Kevin Porter

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

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

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.

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

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

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).”

Rockets Notes: Silas, Mathews, Wood, Porter, Sengun

The Rockets lost big on Monday night in Philadelphia with Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. both serving a one-game suspension, but coach Stephen Silas said the game with the Sixers wasn’t a consideration in deciding how to discipline two of his starters, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Both players were suspended for their actions on Saturday, with Wood being late for a COVID-19 test and refusing to enter the game in the second half and Porter leaving the arena at halftime after a confrontation with assistant coach John Lucas.

Silas, the son of former NBA player and coach Paul Silas, said he turned to his father’s advice of “follow your gut” in deciding how to handle the situation. Especially with a young team, he believes it’s more important to set boundaries about proper behavior than to worry about the results of one game.

“There isn’t a balance (between winning and disciplining) to me,” Silas said. “There’s doing what’s right and doing what’s best for this organization. That’s how you build culture. You do it through a lot of different things. Accountability is huge, making sure everybody knows what is acceptable and is not acceptable and learning from that. That’s the big part, learning from those moments and learning from those experiences so we can improve and we can be better.”

There’s more on the Rockets:

  • Garrison Mathews tied his season high with 23 points Monday shortly after clearing the league’s health and safety protocols, Feigen adds in the same story. Mathews described his time off as “boring” and was happy to be back on the court. “From the jump, I felt good,” he said. “Having six, seven days off, it’s hard to take that many days off and come back and get right to it. My body felt fresh. It wasn’t sore like it was before. It was good to have a few days off, but when you take seven days off, your conditioning starts to wear down at the end.”
  • In the wake of Saturday’s incident, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated believes the Rockets should get rid of Porter and Wood as soon as possible, even if that means waiving Porter, whose contract is guaranteed for $3.2MM next season. Mannix also criticizes general manager Rafael Stone for assembling the current roster, which Mannix claims is becoming a distraction for talented young players such as Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Jae’Sean Tate, and for having Silas deal with the media whenever there’s a personnel issue.
  • Fans have been calling for Sengun to get more playing time, but the rookie center told a Turkish magazine that the Rockets are bringing him along slowly so he can adjust to the NBA, relays Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle“(The Rockets) played nine games in 15 days, we used to play nine games in nine weeks in Turkey, we did it in two weeks here,” Sengun said. “It’s hard to get used to it right away.”

Rockets Suspending Porter, Wood For Monday’s Game

The Rockets are suspending guard Kevin Porter Jr. and big man Christian Wood for Monday’s game in Philadelphia vs. the Sixers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Both players are being disciplined for their poor behavior on Saturday night vs. Denver. As we detailed over the weekend, Porter left the arena following a halftime altercation with assistant coach John Lucas, while Wood told coaches he wasn’t interested in playing in the second half after being held out of the lineup because he missed a mandatory COVID-19 test.

The ESPN report provides a few more details on Saturday’s incident. According to Wojnarowski and MacMahon, one young Houston player challenged Wood and told him that – as a veteran – he should be setting a standard for the team. ESPN’s duo also says the Rockets believe Porter has made progress on his anger-management issues, which resurfaced on Saturday.

It’s unclear if this will be the extent of the punishments for Porter and/or Wood. At this point, there’s no indication that either of their suspensions will extend beyond Monday’s contest. Houston’s next game is on Wednesday in Washington and both Porter and Wood are still traveling with the team.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, a one-game suspension will cost Porter a little over $12K and Wood approximately $94K. That works out to 1/145th of their respective salaries.

Kevin Porter Jr. Leaves Arena, Christian Wood Sits After Rockets’ Halftime Blowup

Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood may have uncertain futures in Houston following a locker-room altercation with coaches at halftime of the Rockets‘ loss to Denver Saturday night.

According to Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Porter left the arena after assistant coach John Lucas challenged him, Wood, and several other players for a lack of effort. Porter reportedly threw an object and had to be separated from Lucas during the exchange. When told that he wouldn’t play in the second half, he responded by driving away rather than joining his teammates on the bench.

Wood, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was held out of the starting lineup after missing a mandatory COVID-19 test earlier in the day, the authors add. He played eight minutes in the first half, going scoreless and missing all four of his shots from the field, and sources tell Charania and Iko that he informed coaches at halftime that he wasn’t interested in playing in the second half.

Head coach Stephen Silas said the incident was sparked by a “spirited debate” after allowing the Nuggets to score 77 points in the first half, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. It marked the second straight game in which the Rockets had surrendered more than 70 points in the first half.

“I mean, we were angry at halftime that we had just given up 47 points (in the second quarter),” Silas said. “So, we watched the film. We had a spirited debate at halftime. And you know, I have certain demands of this group as far as playing hard. Making mistakes is different than giving the effort, and I wasn’t satisfied with the effort. So, halftime took a little bit longer and then getting more organized after halftime (took a) little bit longer as well.”

Porter has spoken to team officials and expressed regret about the incident, a Rockets source told Iko. He has a history of anger issues, which is why Houston was able to acquire him from the Cavaliers midway through last season for a conditional second-round draft pick.

After the trade, the Rockets sent Porter to their G League affiliate to learn how to become a point guard. The organization has committed to him for that position, to the point of keeping John Wall, the team’s highest-paid player, inactive so he won’t affect Porter’s minutes. Porter will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer, and this latest issue will surely affect the Rockets’ willingness to make a long-term commitment.

There have already been trade rumors surrounding Wood, who is in the second season of a three-year contract he signed as a free agent in 2020. He’s having another productive year, averaging 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in 35 games, but Houston isn’t winning and he’s probably the team’s best trade asset.

No disciplinary action has been announced against either player, although fines and possible suspensions seem likely.

The Rockets barely made it back to the court in time for the second half, Feigen adds, and the incident reveals problems that go far beyond a seven-game losing streak.

“There is, you know, when you’re competitors, there’s times where you’re in the locker room and in the locker rooms … you’re getting after it and you’re showing examples,” Silas said. “And you know, when you want a team to do better, you have to let them know. And tonight, was the night I had to let them know.”

Southwest Notes: W. Green, Porter Jr., Mavericks, Dudley

The faith that first-year Pelicans coach Willie Green showed in his players during a horrendous start is beginning to pay off, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. It appeared New Orleans might be headed for a lost season after opening with a 3-16 record and having no clarity on the return of star forward Zion Williamson, who had offseason foot surgery. Williamson still hasn’t played, but his teammates have turned things around, winning eight of their last 13 games and moving to within two games of the play-in tournament.

“That patience came with a lot of prayer,” Green said. “It was rough at the beginning, and it was challenging, even on me, to stay patient. It’s a long season, and this is an unbelievable group — high-character guys. We can see improvement every week. We didn’t get the results initially, but the guys are believing more and more.”

After making coaching changes the past two offseasons, Pelicans management needed Green to succeed, Guillory adds. Beyond the results on the court, the front office was looking for someone who could get through to the team’s best players and convince them to buy into what he wants to do.

“He didn’t change. … He continued to believe in what got him the job and continued to believe in us,” Josh Hart said. “That was the biggest thing for us — to obviously have a coach who’s confident, a coach who has trust in us to go out there and execute and play.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Injured Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. doesn’t have a return date yet, but he’s continuing to make progress with his bruised left thigh, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter, who hasn’t played since December 3, has been ramping up his workouts over the past week. “We’re getting there,” he said. “It has been a work in progress, but we’ve just been making progress each and every day. I’m feeling good. We’re taking steps forward. It’s always hard waiting. Honestly, when it first happens, I feel like it’s the worst because (the rehab) is a long-ball game, but almost being back is a boost of confidence and (to) your self-esteem about everything every day, everything you do daily.”
  • Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at the six hardship additions the Mavericks are making in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak. Theo Pinson, Marquese Chriss and George King have already joined the team, and the signings of Charlie Brown, Carlik Jones and Brandon Knight are expected to become official soon.
  • Jared Dudley, a first-year assistant coach with the Mavericks, talks to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times about the transition from playing to coaching. “I really wanted to play one last season with the Lakers, to be honest, but I’m also loving coaching,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a coach and for (Jason Kidd) to give me this opportunity, I am so grateful.”

Western Notes: Morant, Rockets, Zeller, Bazley

After going 10-2 while Ja Morant was out due to a knee sprain, the Grizzlies lost at home in Morant’s return on Monday. The defeat came at the hands of an Oklahoma City team that Memphis had beaten by 73 points earlier in the month.

Morant, who had 16 points and eight assists in 28 minutes, was happy to be back on the court, but he admitted after the game that the reaction from the fans in Memphis was a far cry from the “MVP” chants he heard earlier in the season.

“Running down the court, I heard some of our fans courtside tell me I need to sit back out,” Morant said, per Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I just want to know what they wanted me to get out of that. I feel like that just makes it worse.”

Although the Grizzlies are just 9-11 with Morant in the lineup this season, the general consensus is that they benefited from a favorable schedule and some good luck during his absence. As Barnes relays, teammate Desmond Bane scoffed at the idea that the team was better off without its star point guard.

“That’s nonsense. Nonsense,” Bane said. “People just want something to talk about. Ja’s an easy target because he’s the best player on the team. He’s an All-Star in his third year and we happened to win some games and guys were out with teams we were playing. … There was something that popped up on my phone talking about trading Ja Morant. He’ll be in Memphis as long as he wants to be in Memphis. He’s our franchise, for sure.”

Here are a few more notes from around the Western Conference:

  • Rockets head coach Stephen Silas is hopeful that Jalen Green (hamstring), who has been out since November 24, will be back in the lineup before Christmas, but said Kevin Porter Jr. (thigh), who last played on December 3, will remain sidelined through the Christmas break, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. The Rockets are in action on Wednesday in Milwaukee and Thursday in Indiana, then will resume play next Monday in Charlotte.
  • The Trail Blazers announced on Sunday in a press release that Cody Zeller (small fracture of right patella) is making progress in his recovery and increasing his on-court activity. However, he’s still unavailable for the time being and will be reevaluated in a week.
  • Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman explores how and why the Thunder decided to move Darius Bazley to the bench after he had started his last 82 games across two seasons. Head coach Mark Daigneault talked to general manager Sam Presti before making the move, as Mussatto writes.