Would the Cleveland Cavaliers bench be better off had Kevin Porter stayed?

Would Kevin Porter have been an asset for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had issues with their bench all season. Kevin Love’s poor play and eventual departure hurt. The inconsistent play from Caris LeVert and Cedi Osman hasn’t made things better and the re-acclimation of Ricky Rubio has seen some issues offensively. The Cavs are going to need to sign some help in the offseason for sure.

But could a former Cavs player been the key to having a more effective bench? Our brother site, King James Gospel, recently posted an article where they look at seven players the Cavs gave up on too soon. One of the names on that list was Kevin Porter.

Porter, currently with the Houston Rockets, was a handful. He caused problems for the Cavs during his lone year with the club and while his stats are impressive enough for the under-.500 Rockets, it was his on and off-the-court antics that made many concerned.

He’s been suspended a few times, including in 2022, where he yet again got into a fight. This time at a strip club in Miami. Porter had his issues in Cleveland as well. From car crashes to clashes with higher-ups, Porter proved to be far too immature to rely on.

Would Kevin Porter have fit in with this Cleveland Cavaliers squad

There’s no arguing that Porter’s offense wouldn’t have helped the Cavs heading into the playoffs. Yet, talent is just one aspect of a player. He may be a huge get for the squad if he didn’t come with a whole host of behavioral issues, but we can’t just erase someone’s personality.

Porter would not have fit with this Cavs team. We saw just how upset Donovan Mitchell was with the antics of Rudy Gobert, a relationship that eroded so fast and hard, that it was one of the biggest reasons Mitchell wanted out. Mitchell clearly wants to win and may have seen Gobert as too aloof.

Would he be ok with the constant antics of Porter? Probably not. Porter’s a strip-club-brawling kind of guy. Compare that type of behavior to this team. The Cavaliers’ second-best player, Jarret Allen, was watching a Nintendo stream on Pokemon Day.

This team is not built to deal with Porter’s nonsense. It’s why he got dealt in the first place. I reject whole-heartily that Porter was given up on too soon, and more to the point, I believe that Porter’s attitude issues would be plaguing the Cavs’ chemistry, hindering their potential.

Yes, if these were just video game characters, Porter’s skillset would improve the bench scoring of the Cavs, but you can’t just ignore the baggage that comes with a guy. That’s not how reality works. So no, Porter wouldn’t have improved the bench that much had he stayed.