The Cleveland Cavaliers washed their hands of him, and for years their decision was vindicated by immature behavior and poor on-court production. Could that be turning around after four years?
The player in question is Kevin Porter Jr., a former top high school recruit and scoring dynamo who fell in the 2019 NBA Draft due to character concerns. The Cavaliers ended up trading back into the first round and drafting him with the 30th pick, taking a bet on talent for a player many thought would go in the lottery.
Those character concerns reared their head early and often for Porter during his time in Cleveland, and after just over a season they decided to cut ties, dumping him on the Houston Rockets and walking away from the Kevin Porter Jr. business entirely.
That appeared to be the right decision for years. While Porter was able to fill up the box score, especially as an efficient, high-volume scorer, he was clearly not a winning player. Off-court and behavior issues continued to plague him, including a charge of domestic assault, leading to the Rockets salary-dumping him before the start of the 2023-24 season. He spent a year playing in Greece and his NBA career appeared to be on life support.
Then in July of last year, the LA Clippers took a flier on him, signing him to a deal and eventually installing him as one of their backup guards. He was an every-night player for the Clippers, averaging 9.3 points per game in 19.6 minutes, continuing to score inefficiently -- 42.3 percent from the field and 24.5 percent from deep. If he could stay on the straight and narrow, it looked like another few years of sticking around the league were in his future.
Kevin Porter Jr. has a chance in Milwaukee
Then the Milwaukee Bucks came along at the Trade Deadline and decided to take a swing. That's what the Bucks have to do now, as their core ages and they continue to take first-round picks and light them on fire. They are multiple tiers below the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, and while Giannis Antetokounmpo remains an MVP candidate, they don't have the roster around him to contend.
With limited assets they have to take big swings, so they decided to see if they -- Porter's fourth substantive NBA team -- could unlock his potential. They traded for Porter at the Trade Deadline and are giving him a chance to break out.
After an inauspicious debut, Porter played a larger role on Wednesday night as the Milwaukee Bucks upset the Minnesota Timberwolves without Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard. They did it largely on the back of their defense, but the bench also stepped up in a major way.
That included a strong all-around game from Kevin Porter Jr. He played 22 minutes and scored 11 points -- and more impressively, led the team in assists with five and added eight rebounds and a steal. He didn't hijack the offense, but instead took good shots when they came to him and otherwise set up his teammates.
Is that a sign of things to come for Porter? Can he revive his career and carve out a role on the Bucks? Or was it merely a one-time, one-night revival for a player who always finds a way to halt his own progress?
The Cavaliers gave up on Porter. The Rockets gave up on Porter. The Clippers gave up on Porter. Now he has perhaps his last chance to prove himself in Milwaukee. The early returns are good.