Kevin Porter

Rockets Notes: Wall, Porter, Offseason, Silas

April 12th, 2022 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

John Wall ended up sitting out the entire 2021/22 season, as the Rockets‘ front office was unable to find a trade it liked involving the veteran point guard. However, general manager Rafael Stone is confident that won’t be the case again in 2022/23 as Wall enters the final year of a contract that will pay him more than $47MM next season.

“I think there’s a real market for John,” Stone said on Monday, per Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press. “I think we’ll find a deal that will work for him and for us, and if one doesn’t materialize, we’ll we’ll cross that bridge (of a possible buyout) if and when it occurs. But that that is not something he’s focused on, and is not something I’m focused on.”

While it’s possible there could be a small handful of teams interested in discussing a deal for Wall, the Rockets will be hard-pressed to get anything of value for him — even with just one year left on his contract, the 31-year-old has negative trade value due to his exorbitant cap hit.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr., who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, admitted he was thinking about his contract situation earlier in the 2021/22 season and believes it negatively impacted his play, as Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle relays. “At the beginning of the season, I kind of put too much pressure on myself thinking about that type of thing,” Porter said. “Once I eased my mind off of it, I started to play better. So I don’t really want to put no mind to it. I love Houston, and they love me, so I’m sure that I’ll be here for a minute.”
The Rockets posted an NBA-worst record of 20-62 in 2021/22, but both Stone and head coach Stephen Silas believe the team’s young players improved over the course of the year. Although Silas acknowledged that Houston will still have a young team next season and won’t become a contender overnight, he suggested on Monday that his expectations will be higher. “We really started at zero this year with a lot of guys,” Silas said, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “So getting to the point where we played an 82-game season with these guys and their roles will be similar next year … we’ll still be starting at a much higher place than we were this season as far as understanding. (The Rockets will not be) so bland on both ends of the floor because there’ll be a much higher level of understanding when it comes to the young guys.”
In a separate story for The Houston Chronicle, Feigen explores a number of offseason questions facing the Rockets, including whether Porter will be extended, what the team will do in the draft, and what will happen with Wall and some other veteran trade candidates on the roster. Feigen adds that Houston intends to bring back Silas for 2022/23, though he and the front office will have to be sure they remain on the same page with the rebuilding plan going forward.

Rockets Rumors: Wall, Wood, Tate, Porter, Green

April 8th, 2022 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

While there was never any real doubt, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that Rockets guard John Wall is going to exercise his player option for the 2022/23 season. That option is worth approximately $47.4MM, which is far more than Wall could realistically expect to earn next season if he were to opt out of his deal to become a free agent.

The Rockets were unable to work out a trade involving Wall last offseason or during the 2021/22 season, but will try again this summer, according to Scotto, who says Wall’s reps at Klutch Sports would likely engage in buyout talks with Houston if the club still can’t find a viable trade. Wall’s preference would be to have a role on a winning team, Scotto adds.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast with Scotto, Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire said he gets the sense from conversations with people around the league that there are still some off-court concerns with Christian Wood. The big man might be a better fit in a contender’s locker room with a clear veteran star and leader in place, per DuBose.
Also on the HoopsHype podcast, Scotto noted that the Rockets are prioritizing cap room for 2023, which means that they may prefer to wait to lock up players like Jae’Sean Tate and Kevin Porter, who will be extension-eligible this offseason and could be long-term pieces.
Jalen Green got off to a slow start this season, but his strong second-half play – including an ongoing streak of five straight games with 30+ points – bodes well for the Rockets’ rebuild, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says there should be “no denying his status or stature” going forward.
In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks previewed the Rockets’ offseason, touching on Porter’s case for an extension, Wall’s status, and what the team will do with Wood and Eric Gordon, among other topics.
Within his own look ahead to the Rockets’ offseason at The Athletic, Iko says he’d be surprised if Wood is still with the team after next season’s trade deadline and suggests a team-friendly extension for Porter could be in the range of $10-14MM per year.
In case you missed it, Rockets two-way player Trevelin Queen was named the G League MVP for 2021/22.

Rockets Notes: Green, Garuba, Draft, Porter

April 2nd, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jalen Green has been showing off the scoring ability that convinced the Rockets to take him with the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. When Houston decided this week to hold out its veterans, possibly for the rest of the season, Green began to focus on getting the shots he wanted. The result has been three straight 30-point games, including a career-best 33 Friday night.

“He’s a shot maker,” coach Stephen Silas said. “He can get to the rim. He can get to the free throw line. He can shoot the mid-range. Just kind of happy for him that the work he puts in translates and he can be further confirmed that he’s really good by working and producing and working more and producing more.”

Green became a starter right away, but it took him a while to adjust to the NBA, Feigen notes. He shot just 37.7% from the field and 28.4% from three-point range for the first part of the season, but since turning 20 on February 9 those numbers have improved to 46.5% and 40%. Green believes he benefited from participating in the Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend.

“All-Star was just a confidence builder, being in that atmosphere, playing in that,” he said. “On top of that, me and (assistant coach John Lucas) being in the gym working, all the time. Just trusting my work.”

There’s more from Houston:

Fellow rookie Usman Garuba had to wait much longer for his first NBA start, which happened Wednesday, Feigen adds in a separate story. The 23rd pick last year battled through a thigh bruise, a fractured wrist, an ankle injury and COVID-19, which have limited him to 20 total games. “It is very important for him to feel good about his position on this team, his worth for our group,” Silas said. “He’s talented and he hasn’t really gotten a chance this year. We have such high hopes for him and we’re so positive about him, but he needs to feel it as well. I think having the actual game experience will help him with that.”
Auburn’s Jabari Smith would be the best fit for the Rockets in the draft, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko sees Smith’s size, shooting and defensive abilities as a perfect fit for Houston’s current roster and says questions about his playmaking won’t be a concern with Green and Kevin Porter Jr. handling those duties.
Iko expects Porter to remain the team’s point guard unless the Rockets land the fourth or fifth pick and draft Purdue’s Jaden Ivey. Porter will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.

Texas Notes: Porter, Rockets, Bullock, Murray

March 20th, 2022 at 3:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. hopes to carve out his own path at the position, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Feigen notes that Houston is content to see Porter act as something of a score-first point guard, though he has grown as a passer.

“We’re in 2022,” Porter said, in reference to how his play is reflective of the position’s evolution. “I think (Stephen) Curry, he got the ‘traditional point guard’ label out. Since Steph, I don’t think there’s been like a traditional point guard moving forward, except for CP (Chris Paul) and (others) that have been already. I see myself definitely as a point guard, especially for this team. I want to be a point guard for the rest of my career.”

Porter is averaging 14.1 PPG, 6.0 APG and 4.1 RPG for the Rockets this season.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

The rebuilding Rockets are primed to add some blue-chip talent to their young roster in the 2022 draft. Kelly Iko and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic examine how several top projected lottery picks could fit Houston, including 7’1″ Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren, Auburn forward Jabari Smith, Duke forward Paolo Banchero, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, Iowa forward Keegan Murray, and Duke wing A.J. Griffin. Iko and Vecenie think it would behoove Houston to not necessarily think too much about positional overlap – particularly with incumbent starting center Christian Wood or point guard Kevin Porter Jr. – when considering draft prospects.
Veteran Mavericks shooting guard Reggie Bullock is back with Dallas following a three-game absence due to personal reasons, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Bullock in the first of a three-year, $30.5MM contract he signed with the Mavericks last summer, has seen his role reduced a little for a 43-28 Dallas team with serious playoff aspirations. After being a starter for the majority of the time since a 2017/18 NBA season spent with the Pistons, the 31-year-old out of North Carolina has toggled between the starting lineup and the bench for Dallas this year.
Given Spurs guard Dejounte Murray‘s own history with serious injuries (he tore his ACL in 2018), he has recently been reaching out to other NBA players dealing with their own difficult injury rehabs, writes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. Murray has talked to Warriors wing Klay Thompson, who has just returned this season after suffering ACL and Achilles tears in consecutive years, as well as Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who continues to work his way back from a torn left ACL.

Rockets Notes: Porter, Silas, Christopher, Brooks

February 26th, 2022 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets‘ young backcourt hasn’t produced many wins this season, but Kevin Porter Jr. believes he and Jalen Green have a bright future, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Porter is in his first full season as a point guard after learning the position after being acquired from the Cavaliers last year. Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, has endured an up-and-down rookie season, but has been producing points lately at a much more efficient rate.

“We need momentum going into next year,” Porter said. “Finishing off the season — not even (for) next year — finishing off the season, we want to finish the right way. … We want to take it real serious and try to win each and every game. We’re going to try to jell, me and J’s chemistry on the court, because next year we’ve got to be scary. We’re going to be scary.”

Porter had to leave Friday’s game at Orlando after rolling his left ankle in the third quarter, but coach Stephen Silas said it’s just a routine sprain, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Porter was held out of practice today to receive treatment and will be a game-time decision on Sunday.

There’s more on the Rockets:

With his team well out of the playoff race, Silas will focus on improving the defense over the rest of the regular season, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The Rockets rank 29th in the league in points allowed in the paint and are the worst in the league by far in that statistic since the start of January. “I might try a few new things,” Silas said. “But it has been the rim, the restricted area, where teams are getting to the restricted area and shooting 60-something percent at the rim. So our rim protection has to be better, which means our bigger guys are lower and closer to the rim. That’s something that I’m going to be be toying around with.”
One pleasant surprise this season has been the emergence of rookie guard Josh Christopher, Iko adds. Even though Christopher only plays 16.5 minutes per night, the Rockets have been 5.8 points better when he’s on the court. Iko sees him developing into a valuable role player in Houston, possibly as a smaller version of Danuel House.
Armoni Brooks, who was waived to accommodate a three-for-one trade with the Celtics at the deadline, has joined the College Park Skyhawks in the G League, Iko tweets. He adds that Brooks declined several two-way contract offers and may still have a future with the Rockets.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Brunson, Finney-Smith, Grizzlies, Hayes

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers team that Houston defeated on Wednesday has provided a blueprint for the Rockets to follow as they go through their own rebuild, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Cleveland patiently accumulated talent while enduring seasons of 19 wins, 19 wins (again), and 22 wins, and that patience is paying off this year.

“They have a bunch of young guys, and had some rough years for sure, but stuck with those young guys,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said on Wednesday, per Feigen. “Those young guys were working together during the summer and going to Summer League and getting a little bit better to the point they are really having a good season led by J.B. (Bickerstaff) and the job J.B. has done and them sticking with J.B. and the organization being super solid with that group. That’s what we’re looking for here.”

Asked about the Rockets, Bickerstaff acknowledged that he could see some similarities between his own team and Houston, pointing to the young backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. as a duo worth building upon.

“This group, especially being able to play with the size of those guys, they have big guards who can play different positions and score different ways,” Bickerstaff said of the Rockets. “They’re what the future of the league looks like, that size and skill.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Amid speculation about whether the Mavericks will trade or re-sign a pair of 2022 free-agents-to-be, Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith, Dalton Trigg of DallasBasketball.com reached out to team owner Mark Cuban and received the following response: “We will do all we can to keep (both Brunson) and Dorian.”
Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News outlines how the trade exception the Mavericks created in last summer’s Josh Richardson deal could come in handy at the trade deadline.
With the Grizzlies firmly in control of a top-three seed in the West, Tim MacMahon of ESPN takes a deep dive into the young squad’s success and its short- and long-term goals. “Obviously, everybody’s ultimate goal is to win a championship,” All-Star point guard Ja Morant told ESPN. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re laying brick by brick each day to get better. At the end, we’ll build an empire.”
Playing almost exclusively at power forward, Pelicans big man Jaxson Hayes racked up 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting on Monday vs. Cleveland. The performance prompted head coach Willie Green to say after the game that jumbo lineups with Hayes alongside center Jonas Valanciunas are “something we’re definitely going to explore” more going forward, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

COVID-19 Updates: Anderson, Murphy, Porter, Murray

January 31st, 2022 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Anderson returned to action for the Grizzlies on Saturday night after missing five games in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. While Anderson only scored four points in 23 minutes, he chipped in nine rebounds and four assists in Memphis’ 20-point win over Washington.

After dealing with a mini-outbreak of COVID-19 this month, the Grizzlies now have just one player still in the protocols. Tyus Jones, the team’s lone affected player, is listed as questionable for Monday’s game in Philadelphia, suggesting that he could be on the verge of being cleared.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

The Pelicans are no longer listing rookie Trey Murphy III on their injury report, signaling that he has exited the health and safety protocols and should be available on Monday vs. Cleveland. Murphy was out of New Orleans’ rotation even before he entered the protocols, having not played more than three minutes since December 28, so his return shouldn’t have a major impact on the team’s game plan.
Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game vs. Golden State and is no longer listed in the protocols, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter is dealing with an illness, but it doesn’t appear to be COVID-19.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray continues to recover from left ACL surgery, but isn’t in the COVID-19 protocols anymore, per the NBA’s injury report.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Pelicans, McCollum, Porter Jr.

January 28th, 2022 at 8:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal lists five players the Grizzlies should target at the trade deadline. Memphis is reportedly on the lookout for wing depth, and Cole has three wings among his list: Terrence Ross, Eric Gordon and Justin Holiday. He acknowledges that trading for Gordon would be tricky, because he has a large contract ($18.MM this season, $19.5MM in 2022/23), so Ross or Holiday might be more feasible options.

Cole believes Robert Covington would fit in seamlessly with Memphis and should be the team’s top target, while Robin Lopez could solidify an already great offensive rebounding team (the Grizzlies are first in the league in offensive rebounds and total rebounds per game).

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Speaking of the Grizzlies, backup point guard Tyus Jones earned a $776,286 bonus when the team beat San Antonio 118-110 on Wednesday, ESPN’s Bobby Marks relays (via Twitter). The criteria was Memphis reaching 33 wins, so Jones has received the bonus in each of the past three seasons, Marks notes. Jones has quietly led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio four seasons in a row, averaging 5.4 assists for every turnover committed this season (per TeamRankings.com).
The Pelicans have been active in trade talks and have been the team most frequently linked to Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum. Scott Kushner of NOLA.com believes the Pels should trade for the 30-year-old because the team’s backcourt has struggled to consistently make outside shots, which is something McCollum excels at — he’s a career 40% three-point shooter. New Orleans has never been a free agent destination, so the fact that McCollum is under contract through 2023/24 is also appealing to Kushner.
Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The 21-year-old has had an up-and-down third season thus far, averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 3.6 turnovers per contest on .381/.344/.642 shooting through 32 games (30.0 minutes).

Western Notes: Curry, Green, Porter Jr., Kings, Kuminga

January 15th, 2022 at 3:35pm CST by JD Shaw

Warriors superstar Stephen Curry downplayed the hand injury suffered during his team’s 138-96 win over Chicago on Saturday, as relayed by ESPN. Curry landed on his right hand after driving to the rim, but the two-time MVP remained in the game.

“Anything that involves the hands, especially the right one, you’re a little concerned,” he said. “But the feeling came back, the strength came back. It hurts, but I’ll be all right.”

Curry feels the injury isn’t significant, but out of caution, he’ll undergo additional examination. Golden State is 31-11 largely because of his play, as the 33-year-old is averaging 26.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game so far this season.

“I have some PTSD from two years ago,” Curry explained, referring to when he broke his hand. “When I landed it felt kind of the same, but we’ll get it looked at and figure it out. Should be all right.”

Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas expressed optimism that Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. will be the team’s backcourt duo for years to come, as relayed by The Athletic’s Kelly Iko in a story about the duo. “They’re better together than they were at the beginning of the season,” Silas explained as part of a larger quote. “Scoot’s (Porter) development as a point guard, where at the beginning of the season, he was really struggling with the turnovers but wasn’t as bad before he got hurt. And then Jalen’s growth as a player, you can see it. I mean, you can see it. So the improvement of those two guys connected to the improvement of the group is the most gratifying thing to me. They’re gonna be together for a long time.”
The Kings didn’t get involved in the Knicks-Hawks trade involving Cam Reddish for a variety of reasons, as James Ham of ESPN 1320 explains (via Twitter). One major reason is how Sacramento doesn’t have the draft assets that New York has, as the Knicks traded away a first-round pick in the deal to acquire Reddish.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the comparison between Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga and former NBA player Shawn Marion. As Slater writes, head coach Steve Kerr recently explained how he wants Kuminga to play, noting that it’s similar to how Marion played during his career. “When I was in Phoenix as a GM, we had Shawn Marion. One of the best athletes in the league,” Kerr said as part of his full quote. “Every night, he’d just run the floor hard. He wasn’t the greatest 3-point shooter, wasn’t the greatest passer, wasn’t the greatest ballhandler. But he was an All-Star because he just played hard. By running the floor, all kinds of good stuff would happen.”

Southwest Notes: Morant, Porter, Pelicans, James, Chriss

January 5th, 2022 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

While there has been some debate this season about whether Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will make his first All-Star team, teammate Desmond Bane believes the answer to that question is obvious. In Bane’s view, Morant should be the subject of another discussion, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

“People debate whether or not he should be an All-Star, but I think we should be debating whether he’s the best point guard in the league,” Bane said. “I don’t think it’s any question he’s an All-Star. The real conversation is, ‘Is he the best point guard in the league?'”

While it may be premature to place Morant above the likes of Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic, he matches up favorably with the Western Conference’s star point guards this season — and he looks like a good bet to join them on this year’s All-Star team. In 27 games (32.5 MPG), Morant is averaging a career-high 25.1 PPG on .489/.400/.772 shooting while also contributing 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.4 SPG.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. said on Tuesday that he apologized both “to the group” and “individually” following the locker-room incident that resulted in him being suspended for Monday’s game, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “I think just as a man and as a human, that’s the right thing to do,” Porter said. “Even if you feel like you’re in the right, there’s ways to approach things in situations, and I felt as a man, I didn’t approach it the right way. So I apologize. I feel like that’s just something you need to do as a principled thing.” Porter added that he still feels supported by the organization.
The Pelicans don’t plan to re-sign Justin James, whose 10-day contract expired overnight, sources tell Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link). With the team getting healthier, there wasn’t an immediate need to retain James, Lopez explains.
Marquese Chriss, currently on his second 10-day contract with the Mavericks, would love to remain in Dallas beyond the expiration of his current deal on January 9, writes Dwain Price of Mavs.com. However, even if he isn’t retained, the big man is happy to be back in action after losing nearly an entire season due to a broken leg. “Being able to be back on the court, I’m just thankful for that,” Chriss said. “And I’m just trying to make the most out of the opportunity that I can. Hopefully it’s here (in Dallas).”

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