Earlier this month, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone indicated troubled point guard Kevin Porter Jr’s tenure in Houston was over by declaring he was not wanted around the team or the facility.
Ties were officially broken this week when the team announced it had reached a trade agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder to send Porter and two future second round draft picks there in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. It’s likely Porter, 23, has played his last game in the NBA as the Thunder are expected to immediately waive him as soon as the trade is finalized through the league office.
Porter, of course, is facing criminal charges for second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault stemming from an altercation he had with his girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick, last month in a New York hotel room. New York prosecutors earlier this week announced they have dropped the second-degree assault charges because of insufficient evidence, but that will not change his NBA fate.
Stone described the allegations against Porter as “deeply troubling” and NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the allegations were “horrific.”
“I informed his representatives that he could not be a part of the Houston Rockets,” Stone said to reporters earlier this month. “They understood and he has not been with the team or had any interaction with the team since that time.
“These are matters under the CBA that are handled by the league, not the team. What’s left for the team to do is evaluate the best steps forward for the organization.”
The trade now frees the Rockets of Porter and the $16.8 million that is owed him after signing an extension with the team last season. The Rockets will save $5.5 million by making the trade.
The Rockets are expected to keep Oladipo and his expiring contract. Robinson-Earl’s tenure isn’t so clear.
But clearly, the trade was all about unloading Porter, and the draft-asset acquiring Thunder were a willing trade partner.
Porter has had a troubled NBA career that included an arrest and locker room blowup which led to Cleveland trading the talented point guard to Houston. His volatile issues followed him here where he was suspended by the team because of a locker room blowup.
Porter averaged 17.2 points, six rebounds and 4.7 rebounds during his three seasons with the Rockets.
He is currently free on a $75,000 bond and is due back in court Nov. 27. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges against him.
