On Tuesday, the Rockets finalized a deal to send Kevin Porter, Jr. and a pair of second round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard (and former Rocket) Victor Oladipo and forward/center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. The deal creates a $4.5 million trade exception for the Rockets.
Oladipo, who remains sidelined with a patellar tendon issue, is unlikely to be a part of the team long term. Instead, his expiring contract could be used to trade for assets at the deadline or simply allow to expire in the offseason. Robinson-Earl is a young big with some defensive upside. It is unclear how or if the Rockets will use him going forward.
The Thunder were looking to unload salary and pick up some draft picks in the process. They intend to waive Porter, Jr. according to reports.
This brings an end to a strange tenure of the talented but clearly troubled Porter. The Rockets picked him up for essentially nothing from Cleveland after he ran afoul of the team for a number of outbursts and run-ins with the law. While the Rockets had hoped to pair him with Jalen Green in their backcourt of the future, they hedged by signing him to a heavily team-protected contract before last season after he displayed some troubling conduct including leaving the Toyota Center at halftime of a game after an confrontation with Rockets coaches.
It turned out to be the right move (ish) for GM Rafael Stone after Porter, Jr. and his alleged ex-girlfriend and former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick got into an altercation in an upscale New York City hotel last month. Porter, Jr. was arrested and charged with multiple felonies including assault and strangulation. Initially, it was reported that Porter, Jr. fractured a bone in Gondrezick’s neck during the argument, which turned out to be inaccurate. As a result, police dropped one of the charges.
Just this week, Gondrezick told the New York Post that very little about the police’s report was true.
“He didn’t hit me. He never balled his fists up and hit me,” Gondrezick insisted. “And he definitely didn’t punch me in the face numerous times. That is a lie. I don’t have any injuries to support that.”
According to the police, the former WNBA player was found in the hallway outside her room by hotel employees “bloodied and bruised.” She allegedly told police Porter, Jr. punched her with a closed fist several times in the face, but has since denied that. She and her attorney are now saying that the charges were inflated because they two are professional basketball players.
Porter, Jr. is scheduled in court in Manhattan on November 27.
From the Rockets perspective, this is likely a weight off their shoulders regardless of the outcome of the criminal matter for Porter, Jr. Setting aside the character issues, there were legitimate questions about how he fit into the Rockets future. The team had tried to mold him into a point guard, but he was clearly more suited playing off the ball, similar to Green.
With the offseason addition of Fred VanVleet and the drafting of Amen Thompson, many wondered what kind of a role Porter, Jr. would play on the team. There were also concerns about how he might mesh with head coach Ime Udoka.
The Rockets and the NBA had virtually no comments whatsoever about the charges Porter, Jr. is facing, but it was clear the team was ready to move on from him and, on Tuesday, they did.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
