It appears as though Kevin Porter Jr.'s time with the Cleveland Cavaliers is coming to an end. The team is expected to either trade or release the second year guard following an outburst that occurred in Cleveland's locker room following Friday's win over the New York Knicks, according to Jason Lloyd and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Porter has not played for the Cavaliers yet this season due to personal reasons, but he reportedly became irate when the team gave his old locker away to newly acquired Taurean Prince.
From The Athletic:
Porter, 20, who has not played this season due to personal issues, grew angry when he entered the locker room and realized the team gave his old locker to Taurean Prince, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade Wednesday.
Sources said Porter, whose locker was moved to the wall where the younger, end-of-bench players reside, began yelling and at one point threw food... Sources said general manager Koby Altman came into the locker room and confronted Porter, and the player remained combative with his boss. The Cavs spent the weekend trying to trade him.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff heard the commotion in the locker room from his office and came in, shocked and disgusted by what he heard.
After the incident, Porter was told to clean out his locker, and his teammates were informed that he would no longer be a member of the team, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. This is an unfortunate turn of events for Porter, who was viewed as an extremely promising player for Cleveland following his rookie campaign. Last season, he appeared in 50 games for the Cavaliers, and even started three times. On the season, he averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Porter had some trouble with the law over the offseason, as he was arrested following a car accident and charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to control the vehicle and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. All of the charges were ultimately dropped.
The Cavaliers traded up with the Milwaukee Bucks in order to draft Porter in the first round (30th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft. Cleveland was obviously impressed with Porter's play during his rookie campaign, as the team picked up an option in his contract last month. Now, it appears as though Porter will have to continue his NBA career elsewhere.
