The Cavs trade of Kevin Porter Jr. remains the right call nearly a year later

The Cavs traded Kevin Porter last season and it appears to be the right call.

Last year the Cavs made a decision to move on from the controversial magnet that was Kevin Porter Jr., a move that at the time was met with a lot of blowback from the Cleveland fanbase and the NBA community at large. It was a move that needed to be made, however, and one that looks even better in the light of a new season.

Porter’s behavior has long been a problem. There were incidents in high school and college that on their own could’ve been career enders, but the ultra-talented never get held to the same standards. So the young player, who everyone thought was a Top 10 player before his antics got him in trouble at USC, fell to the end of the first round where the Cavaliers drafted him.

After his first year with Cleveland, he would get into a confrontation with some women, who later accused him and his sister of striking them. A few months later there was his car crash, where he was arrested for gun charges, among other things, but despite a heaping amount of evidence, the grand jury did not indict him.

Then he threw a temper tantrum in the locker room just before his departure, where he screamed, threw things, and likened his treatment to “modern-day slavery”, all because the Cavs moved his locker to a different spot in the locker room.

There was also the fight at a Miami strip club that Porter was involved with after the move to Houston.

All that alone is enough reason to be glad he’s gone, but Porter has also fallen off heavily in year three. A player so many fans wanted to hold onto is bottoming out in the worst way. His shooting from the floor is down .084% from his rookie year, going from 44% as a rookie to 35% in year three. His three-point shooting is even worse, going from a 33.5% , which is just below league average (34.5%), to a 30.9% in year three.

He averaged 6.3 assists per game against 3.5 turnovers last season, but this year he’s down to 5.8 assists per game, with his turnovers up to a hearty 4.0.

Lauri Markkanen and Ricky Rubio have erased any need for Kevin Porter Jr.

The trade itself didn’t help the Cavs directly return to competition, but moving on from Porter allowed the team to look at different, more reliable options in Ricky Rubio and Lauri Markkanen. Like with Porter, Rubio has been the team’s secondary ball-handler, notably when Darius Garland isn’t on the floor. When they’re on the court together, the two work really well together with Garland turning more into an off-the-ball scorer.

As Porter can switch between shooting guard and small forward depending on the lineup, Markkanen has also been a piece that replaced Porter in a lot of ways. Unlike Porter, Markkanen isn’t known for his troubles in or out of the locker room, and while Markkanen’s three-point shooting is down from seasons prior to starter the season, it’s still more reliable than Porter.

Porter is playing solid defense in Houston, putting up a +0.6 DEF RAPTOR score, which is the same as Rubio’s and just slightly higher than Markkanen’s +0.3. Offensively, he’s not so good, posting a -0.6.

Rubio has the same offensive score as he does defensive score, a +0.6, while Markkanen has a +1.7.

Cavs GM Koby Altman made the right call to trade Porter last year before the Miami strip club fight, and it remains the right call now. That decision just so happens to look better even more so in the light of a new year. Sure that second-round pick isn’t great compensation but the Cavs are vying for the playoffs, so who really cares?

Hopefully, Porter can clean up his act, and his game and help turn around Houston, but the Cavs no longer have to worry if they can rely on Porter and that’s a good thing.