The Houston Rockets and troublesome former first-round selection Kevin Porter Jr. have finally come to an agreement.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Rockets dealt Porter and two future second-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Oklahoma City will immediately release Porter.
Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl were acquired by Houston in the transaction. As Porter’s current contract owes him $16.9 million in guaranteed salary, the Thunder effectively purchased draft picks in the trade.
After an altercation with his girlfriend, former WNBA star Kysre Gondrezick, at a hotel in New York City last month, Porter, a former first-round choice, was detained on felony charges of assault and strangulation. The incident’s allegedly horrific specifics raised serious concerns about Porter’s future in the NBA.
On Monday, one of the assault charges was withdrawn after Manhattan prosecutors admitted that Porter was not to blame for Gondrezick’s neck injury. The 23-year-old continues to be accused with third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation. He entered a not-guilty plea.
If a trade partner couldn’t be found, the Rockets would have likely terminated Porter, but Tuesday’s deal allowed them to acquire two players and release some salary. In the 4-year, $82.5 million deal agreement with the Rockets in 2022, only the first year was guaranteed. Because of Porter’s troubled past, Houston structured the deal that way.
Porter was initially a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers before being traded as a result of an outburst. He left the Rockets in the middle of a game during the 2021–22 season after being reprimanded by a coach.
Last season, Porter averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game. 59 games were played by the former
