Cavaliers News: Kevin Porter Jr. Agrees to Rookie Contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have officially inked first-round pick Kevin Porter Jr., the team announced Wednesday.
Fellow first-rounders Darius Garland (No. 5 overall) and Dylan Windler (No. 26 overall) also signed their rookie deals.
The Milwaukee Bucks took Porter at No. 30, the last pick of the first round. The Bucks traded him to the Detroit Pistons, who then traded him to Cleveland.
As a freshman at USC, the 19-year-old averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 21 games (four starts). His calling card was his 41.2 percent shooting from three.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman described Porter as displaying "classic NBA 2-guard tools" and likened him to Phoenix Suns small forward Kelly Oubre Jr.
Wasserman went on to project Porter's outlook as a rookie and pinned him as eventually developing into a scoring specialist:
"Porter averaged just 22.1 minutes and 7.5 field-goal attempts per game in college, so it's unlikely he'll offer anything more than random scoring outbursts as a rookie. He's too talented as a finisher and shot-maker to go completely quiet, but his appeal stems from long-term potential once he picks up on the nuances of the NBA game. That won't be in his first year. Suspended by USC during the regular season, he also has some maturity questions to answer."
On Jan. 13, Brady McCollough of the Los Angeles Times reported Porter had been suspended from USC indefinitely.
"He was suspended for conduct issues," USC head coach Andy Enfield said, per McCollough. "We'll reevaluate his future with the program this week."
The suspension lasted two games, and Porter also dealt with a nagging thigh injury.
The Cavaliers can only hope their 2019 draft class will help them improve upon their 19 wins from last season.
