The Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr., who is accused of assault and strangulation in New York, will not be making a preseason appearance and it is becoming less and less likely that he will ever play again.
Rafael Stone, the general manager of the Rockets, took use of the NBA’s annual media day reporting date on Monday, the opening day of the 2023–24 season, to discuss the claims and the likelihood of Porter rejoining the organisation.
Stone made a prepared statement and said, “The allegations against him are deeply troubling.” “Going back a few weeks, I told his reps he couldn’t play for the Houston Rockets as soon as I learned about the accusations. Since then, he has not been around the squad or part of it.
“The team’s remaining task is to assess the best course of action for our group that still complies with the league’s policy on domestic abuse.”
Stone remarked, “I can’t answer that and still follow the policy.” Thus, I believe that once more, this is now a legal issue, and that’s where it’s taking place.
The Rockets are not allowed to sanction a player based only on an arrest or while they are the focus of an NBA investigation, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association. Nonetheless, Porter’s contract can be waived by the Rockets prior to the season beginning, and they have attempted to use it to complete a trade.
A player may be placed on paid administrative leave by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver while the league conducts an investigation. Despite Silver’s description of the accusations as “horrific,” the NBA has done nothing. A player does not need to have been found guilty of a felony in order to be in violation of the league’s domestic violence policy, according to the CBA, which went into effect on July 1.
An NBA investigation’s conclusions may be used by the league to “fine, suspend, dismiss, or disqualify” a player “from any further association with the NBA and its teams.” However, no player’s contract has ever been revoked by the league due to a domestic violence incident.
After entering a not guilty plea to a felony charge of domestic abuse in criminal court and the league conducting its own independent investigation, Hornets player Miles Bridges was suspended for thirty games. Bridges was given credit for playing 20 games of his ban last season despite not signing with a team. This season, he will miss the first ten games.
Porter was traded to the Rockets by the Cleveland Cavaliers in January 2021. Porter had an outburst in the locker room after learning that his locker had been moved while he was away from the team.
Due to an offseason weapons allegation that was subsequently dismissed after it was discovered that Porter’s mother, who was in possession of a permit, was the legal owner of both the weapon and the vehicle, he had not played during the first part of the season. Drug and traffic charges were also withdrawn.
After Porter got into a violent argument with former assistant coach John Lucas during halftime of a game at Toyota Centre, the Rockets suspended Porter for one game in January 2022. Porter promptly exited the arena.
But the Rockets thought he was getting better at managing his emotions, so before the previous season, they agreed to a big contract deal that starts this year.
Although no prior issue had reached the degree connected with the allegations in New York last month, the team nevertheless included alternatives in the contract with Porter to reduce some of the risk in the event that there were more issues.
Only for this season is Porter’s deal, which is completely guaranteed to be paid $15.86 million in each of the following four seasons. It has $3 million guaranteed for next season if he is on the roster at the beginning of this season, and $6 million if he is not waived soon after the season, with merely $1 million guaranteed for following season. In addition, there are assurances related to team performance and minutes played.
Porter had started for the Rockets as their starting point guard the previous two seasons, but with the arrival of Amen Thompson, a draft pick, and free agent Fred VanVleet in the offseason, Porter’s role was anticipated to shift.
