Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested this past week on charges of assaulting his girlfriend, Kysre Gondrezick.
Shortly after news of the allegations against him spread, multiple NBA insiders came out and revealed that the Houston Rockets were looking to trade him.
Although this garnered a ton of negative responses from across the sports world, the logic behind Houston’s intentions make total sense. Porter is getting cut regardless of whether he stays or goes – the Rockets just want to maximize his current roster standing in the process.
Porter’s time in the league, in the short-term at least, is done. Between the legal case against him playing out in court and Gondrezick’s family basically putting a bounty on him, he is more trouble than he is worth for any organization in the NBA. As a player, that is. But as an asset? He still has value.
This week, two legitimate trade suitors for Porter presented themselves.
The most obvious choice here is the Miami Heat. Pat Riley and Co. have been trying to dump Duncan Robinson and his nearly $20 million per year contract for a long time. This could be the perfect opportunity to do so.
Miami could send Robinson out to a very desperate Rockets squad in return for Porter and draft capital. The latter part of the deal could be utilized in future trades, whereas the former would be cut ASAP.
If not the Heat, the New York Knicks would also make a lot of sense. Evan Fournier has been on the outs with the team for a while and all parties involved seem to be set on him going elsewhere.
The Rockets present an interesting opportunity to make that goal a reality.
Houston and New York could easily put together a deal that sends Fournier to the Rockets in return for Porter and draft capital.
Fournier being on an expiring deal also ensures that Houston isn’t committing to anything too crazy here financially.
Coach Prime is on fire. What a week for Deion Sanders and Colorado football. https://t.co/QWXUrPSYoK
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 15, 2023
In either of these trades, all parties involved would emerge with something that can be classified as “a win under the circumstances.”
That is the best you could hope for in a situation like this.
Which team will ultimately help the Rockets get out from underneath Porter when it’s all said and done? Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
