Kevin Porter Jr. has been dominant with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League bubble, and Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas has been fairly impressed.
“He’s moving in the right direction. He’s playing the point, pretty much exclusively, and making plays for himself and for his teammates,” Silas told reporters. “He’s super skilled. His ball-handling is good. At some point, when he gets back, he’ll be a part of what we’re doing.
“But him getting in shape, and getting game reps and having the success that he’s having down there is important. And it’s important to build on that. It’s very similar (the system) to what we do, so when he gets back, hopefully he’ll be able to fit right in.”
Porter was acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers last month, in which the Rockets gave up next-to-nothing to land him. The 6-foot-4 guard was the No. 30 overall draft pick in 2019, selected by the Detroit Pistons then immediately traded to the Cavs.
The Rockets will soon be counting on Porter to join the veteran backcourt of John Wall, Victor Oladipo and Eric Gordon.
Porter has a major upside but his issues with the Cavs, including a locker-room blowup at general manager Koby Altman, are what the Rockets are looking to eliminate.
“He obviously is very talented, he’s versatile on both ends of the floor. He can do a lot on the basketball court,” Silas said. “We feel like we have the structure in place to let him be successful. … It’s up to us to have honest conversations, back and forth, and develop a relationship. But it’s an exciting thing, to have a young guy who has potential.”
Porter averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds last season as a rookie in Cleveland.
