2019 Draft, Pick #30 - Kevin Porter Jr., USC

[Cavatt]

I'm curious as to what you think the right approach would have been.

It's impossible to know without knowing the details.

It seems like he doesn't care if he plays in the NBA. If that is the case, Koby and JB have no leverage on him at all.

Major bummer. I love his game

 

[Man Called X]

My gut tells me that the Cavs didn't handle this situation the right way. I could be wrong though. The logical thing is to let him be on the court asap. They did the complete opposite.

Your gut is as terrible as your trade ideas.

 

[CavsFan07]

My question is —- where’s our leaders on this team intervening when he does this? Drummond or Nance should have put his ass into a wall and let him know he’s not bigger than the team.

Problem is, Porter is a Pre Madonna with obvious mental issues. If he’s going to do nonsense like that over little things like a locker, then yes, it’s time to go.

Sad situation.

 

[wildfan]

The cavs rolled the dice when they drafted him. and it looks like it cost them five second round picks. Teams were well aware there were issues that's the reason he was there at #30. But think it was worth taking a chance.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

I don't doubt it was bad and they probably have to move on from this. It's just the approach they took with him to discipline him that I just don't get. If you want everyone to be an adult in a situation, you act like an adult and have tough conversations. Move his locker, inform him before he comes in and state the reason why. Talk it through and maybe the organization may have realize that locker spot means something to him that they didn't know.

They did not move his locker to "discipline him". They've actually gone out of their way to coddle him for a long time.

This is the National Basketball Association. The line between where Porter is at now and being out of the league is very thin. He has shown some flashes in small bursts and has talent but he hasn't produced or proven anything to deserve any special treatment whatsoever.

He's poison to a very strong culture of young hard working players that Bickerstaff and Altman are working tirelessly to build.

 

[stoike]

Went from a possible cornerstone of the future to a pariah in a very short time. Sad...he has so much talent, but he obviously has deeper seeded issues. But what he did was unacceptable, and the right decision is to sever ties, no matter how painful.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

The cavs rolled the dice when they drafted him. and it looks like it cost them five second round picks. Teams were well aware there were issues that's the reason he was there at #30. But think it was worth taking a chance.

It was 4 2nds, and 1-2 of them were basically useless or wont convey. Cost them a couple million bucks, and two mediocre seconds, one bad second and one that wont convey. Low risk.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I don't doubt it was bad and they probably have to move on from this. It's just the approach they took with him to discipline him that I just don't get. If you want everyone to be an adult in a situation, you act like an adult and have tough conversations. Move his locker, inform him before he comes in and state the reason why. Talk it through and maybe the organization may have realize that locker spot means something to him that they didn't know.

They have every justification to move it regardless of his subjective feelings of entitlement. If he's going to lose it because of a stupid locker, how is he going to react to someone who takes what he feels to be "his" minutes?

Throwing food, being disrespectful to a GM who gave him every chance and to ordinary clubhouse people - not to mention a veteran player who didn't throw temper tantrums - good riddance.

 

[Lee]

Maybe Porter wants to be here so bad & he thinks the Cavs org isn't doing the right things to implement him into the team. Just speculation on my part.

Stop, for every Porter story we know, there are like 4 or 5 we don't. He has fucked up atleast a dozen times 4 that we know of, maybe more that I am forgetting. You don't build team culture by letting the 30th pick in the draft constantly disrespect you.

He has talent, so what? Talent isn't everything. We can have Porter, or we can have Sexton, Garland, Windler, Allen, Prince, ect. I pick the rest of the team over Porter....fuck him.

 

[FrontPageNews]

I wonder why they gave his locker away tho? Does kinda seem like a dick move.

 

[inliner311]

I'm curious as to what you think the right approach would have been.

Anger management and probably just giving him an announced suspension of a certain amount of games. I think other people have stated that this pandemic has been hard on most people especially because it's so open ended. Add in open ended suspensions.

At the end of the day this is a pro basketball team and not a home for lost boys. Treat him like an adult and a player in this league. If they can deal with him then let him go.

Some of this stuff feel like a college or high school approach to a team. That approach didn't even sit well with vets last year with Beilein.

 

[AllforOne]

My gut tells me that the Cavs didn't handle this situation the right way. I could be wrong though. The logical thing is to let him be on the court asap. They did the complete opposite.

My gut tells me that if anything, the Cavs gave him too many chances, and are doing the right thing by cutting bait on him, instead of allowing him to Josh Gordon his way onto the roster for another year or two.

You can't have one set of rules for KPJ and another for everybody else -- especially when KPJ is a bratty kid who has done dick in the league. You can't have a toxic player like him poisoning the locker room. And you can't reward a player for repeated brushes with the law, and any number of other outbursts, with playing time.

Sucks that the Cavs swung and missed on him, but we all knew it was a risk.

Moving forward.

 

[Cavatt]

Anger management and probably just giving him an announced suspension of a certain amount of games. I think other people have stated that this pandemic has been hard on most people especially because it's so open ended. Add in open ended suspensions.

At the end of the day this is a pro basketball team and not a home for lost boys. Treat him like an adult and a player in this league. If they can deal with him then let him go.

Some of this stuff feel like a college or high school approach to a team. That approach didn't even sit well with vets last year with Beilein.

I agree with you on the open ended soft suspension.

 

[ShawnKempIsMyDad]

Don’t cut him. Dismiss him from the team ban him from the building and let him rot until you can trade something for him. This is addition by subtraction. At best he’s on a Delonte West track.

 

[inliner311]

They did not move his locker to "discipline him". They've actually gone out of their way to coddle him for a long time.

This is the National Basketball Association. The line between where Porter is at now and being out of the league is very thin. He has shown some flashes in small bursts and has talent but he hasn't produced or proven anything to deserve any special treatment whatsoever.

He's poison to a very strong culture of young hard working players that Bickerstaff and Altman are working tirelessly to build.

If they didn't feel it wasn't discipline then inform him of it ahead of time and explain the situation. We have heard of guys getting cars or money for switching their jersey number.

Even your explanation of it shows some disconnect of how they view lockers. They move a player's locker who they had said was "untouchable" and move him to the guys that are at the end of the bench and not in the rotation. The locker location is definitely seen as some sort pecking order and isn't nothing in the organization's eyes.