One of the biggest contributors for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their undefeated run in 2023 Las Vegas Summer League was not a player that came in with necessarily a ton of hype. He was a first-round pick, or even drafted at all. Nor was he one of the Cleveland Charge standouts from the season prior, such as Isaiah Mobley, Sharife Cooper or Sam Merrill.
Despite those caveats, Craig Porter Jr. quickly made his presence felt for the Cavaliers in Summer League, and he looks to have the makings of a steal by Cleveland. Porter, who is one of three Cavaliers players set to be on a two-way deal (with Mobley and second-round pick Emoni Bates being the others), could have a bright future with the Wine and Gold.
In Summer League, Porter had 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest in Cleveland’s six games, three of which were starts. He led the Cavs in assists, with those 5.3 per game in Vegas, and he was tied for second with five total steals and tied for third in total blocks with five.
He shot only one-of-nine from three (11.1 percent) in Vegas, but his playmaking on both ends of the floor was big-time for the Cavs, and he delivered for Cleveland on several occasions in big moments. It was Summer League, which one has to take with a grain of salt, however, Porter looked so comfortable out there, which was great to watch.
While him playing more of his meaningful time with the Charge next season would be realistic, he could seemingly receive some rotational time with the Cavaliers.
So, what could be Porter’s pathway to minutes with the Cavs?
It starts with Porter’s defense.
Porter’s defensive playmaking and instincts jump out
Porter’s defense could be a key part of the selling point for Cavaliers minutes. He’s 6-foot-2, which is not ideal size for an NBA guard, and there’s plenty of others involved.
Despite his size, the ball pressure he puts on opposing backcourt players could lead to him causing those players to exhaust valuable time in set possessions, and even in playing that aggressive style, he does not often get beat.
Where Porter’s skill on that end definitely pops is the off-ball element there, however, and he could make a difference in his minutes regularly for that play.
Porter led Wichita State in steals and blocks last season, and had 1.5 steals and blocks per outing on average; his steal and block rates in 2022-23 were 2.7 and 5.0 percent. That latter mark was ridiculous for a guard, and his all-around defensive impact at his size is incredible. The feel and recognition he has to make plays as a helping defender near the basket and as a rotator is so impressive, to relay what Nathan Grubel of No Ceilings expressed when discussing Porter’s skill set pre-draft.
If Porter were to land minutes, even at the next level, his defensive playmaking abilities could be a significant reason for him finding a way to have more opportunities at certain points of next season.
What about the offensive end, then?
As for the offensive end, Porter could improve as a passer, but he made strides there over his time at Wichita State, and as he was featured more and more on-ball, his reads got better as a ball mover, and his timing in hitting shooters can lead to great looks.
That passing was urgency on display throughout Summer League, including in transition sequences, and if he were to have chances playing with the Cavaliers, that could help generate easy shots for Max Strus and Georges Niang.
Now, Porter’s processing as a passer in pick-and-roll situations is an area where he’ll have to show more progression with the Charge, for example, and whether he’d be viable offensively more off-ball is a reasonable question that’d he have to answer in time. And Porter’s free throw hit rate at Wichita State was 69.0 percent, which wasn’t the greatest for a guard.
Fortunately, though, Porter hit 36.3 percent from three last season, with plenty of his looks being on-ball, which was encouraging for his long-term outlook as a potential rotational guard. Along with that, with his change-of-pace, improving feel and athleticism, there’s real upside for him as a scorer and, realistically, a distributor.
Of course, there’s a bunch of others involved, such as Ricky Rubio and Ty Jerome, not even with Darius Garland in that rotational sense, and Porter is on a two-way contract currently. So it’s unclear if he’ll have true meaningful opportunities with the Cavaliers next season.
But, if Cleveland were to at some point move Rubio as part of a trade package, or if he doesn’t respond well next season early on and is out of the rotation, perhaps some minutes could open up for Porter with the Cavs. Those would be for energy, defense and his above the rim athleticism, and at least theoretically, could arise from injuries or for certain matchups.
Either way, even with him already 23 years old and an older prospect, the JUCO product in Porter has worked his tail off to get to this point, and he’s the kind of cultural piece that could fit in really well upon further development. Whether or not he is a player whose two-way deal eventually gets converted to a standard contract at some point next season or following training camp, he’s a quality prospect to have within the Cavs’ organization.