It’s not much, but for Kevin Porter Jr. it was a start, and the Cavaliers are glad he’s back.
For the first time in training camp, Porter joined his teammates at practice.
Why did Porter miss the first portion of camp? The Cavs aren’t saying, though it clearly was not injury-related. It more likely has to do with Porter being arrested on weapons charge in Mahoning County last month. Nothing has been cleared up in that department, as far as we know.
As for the actual basketball, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been staying connected with the talented second-year shooting guard. Porter had also been putting in some individual work.
But Thursday was his official day back.
“He and I have never stopped having dialogues and conversations,” Bickerstaff told reporters. “I think it was a conversation amongst all of us organizationally. The decision was made for him to come back and join us.”
The Cavs open their four-game preseason Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. Since Friday is expected to be Porter’s first “full” workout with the team, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll suit up vs. the Pacers. But the goal is to get him acclimated and back in the swing of the things for the Dec. 23 season-opener.
Porter, 20, was taken into custody by the Ohio State Highway Patrol when he crashed and rolled his 2020 Mercedes-Benz on I-76 in Mahoning County. Troopers found a loaded handgun and suspected marijuana in his vehicle at the time of the crash, per investigators.
He was charged with a felony count of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, as the gun was loaded.
Porter is 6-foot-4 and averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 50 games last season. He is considered a vital part of the Cavs’ future in the backcourt, which also includes leading-scorer Collin Sexton and second-year man Darius Garland.
