Sports
NBA Rumors: Rockets 'Actively Engaged' with Teams on Kevin Porter Jr. Trade – Bleacher Report
The Houston Rockets are reportedly holding active discussions with other teams regarding a potential trade of Kevin Porter Jr., who is facing felony assault and strangulation charges.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, “Houston is actively engaged with multiple teams” on a potential move and is using “several second-round draft picks” as incentives to convince a team to trade for Porter, who was just arrested Monday.
“The real interest for other teams would be the draft picks,” Charania said. He explained any team that traded for Porter would likely waive him in the aftermath of the deal.
The Rockets are actively engaged with multiple teams on a Kevin Porter Jr. trade, incentivizing a deal with several draft picks, sources say. Explaining the reasoning behind all of it on <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stadium</a>: <a href="https://t.co/yWB7pSRMjw">pic.twitter.com/yWB7pSRMjw</a>
Houston is reportedly looking for someone who can immediately play as part of its rotation in return.
ESPN noted prosecutors said during Tuesday’s arraignment that Porter left former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick with a fractured neck vertebra and a cut above her right eye from his alleged assault.
Porter pleaded not guilty to the felony assault and strangulation charges and was ordered to remain away from Gondrezick as he was released Tuesday on $75,000 bail.
Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Mirah Curzer called it a “serious domestic violence case” and said Porter also previously rammed his car into one belonging to Gondrezick.
ESPN cited a criminal complaint that said Gondrezick told police Porter caused the fractured vertebra by squeezing her neck with his hands and caused the cut above her eye by punching her multiple times.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the allegations on Wednesday, per ESPN:
“The allegations here are horrific, no question about it, but I don’t know anything more of course about the actual facts other than reading those allegations. We have a domestic violence policy that was collectively bargained with the Players Association. They certainly feel as strongly as we do about the issue. Every case though also depends on its unique facts.
“I think when we’re not in season, there’s a little bit more of an opportunity to absorb what’s happening before we act. … One thing I’ve learned over many years of working on these cases is that not to assume anything here and to not just rely on headlines, but to try to truly understand what’s happening here as a combination of what law enforcement has learned and direct interviews. And so we’re still now in the process of gathering information.”
Porter, who entered the NBA in 2019 and has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rockets during his career, is scheduled to return to court in New York on Oct. 16.
