Second-year shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. has begun practicing with the Houston Rockets following last week’s trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as relayed by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Porter, 20, got in his first work with the Rockets on Wednesday.
“We’re still kind of trying to work through that,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said of the team’s plans for Porter. “He’s been here and he’s been great, he’s been attentive.”
Porter is 6-foot-4 and acquired by the Cavs on draft night in 2019. He was originally drafted by the No. 30 overall pick by the Detroit Pistons.
The Cavs traded Porter following a well-chronicled blowup directed at general manager Koby Altman inside the team’s locker room. He was arrested over the summer after a one-vehicle accident in northeast Ohio. Charges were eventually drooped.
“We’ve been doing individual stuff with him as well as (Wednesday), he joined the team stuff,” Silas said. “We’re just integrating him slowly. We’re coming up with a plan that makes sense for him and for the team. He hasn’t played in a while. He’s kind of just learning.”
The Rockets are banking on lead assistant coach John Lucas to keep Porter on the straight and narrow. Lucas has a history of helping players work through issues.
Porter averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds last season.
“He’s a young kid, but he’s very talented,” Silas said. “When he first got here, we had to make sure that we’re really, really smart about the structure we have put in place for him on and off the floor.”
The Rockets (8-9) have won four straight, overcoming a 20-point deficit to edge the Portland Trail Blazers 104-101 on Thursday night.
