Our player preview series for the 2025 Clippers season continues with Kevin Porter Jr., an offseason addition at guard.
Basic Information
Height: 6’4
Weight: 203 pounds
Position: Guard/Forward
Age: 24
Years in NBA: 4
Key Stats: 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 3.2 turnovers in 34.3 minutes per game across 59 games (all starts) on 44.2/36.6/78.4 shooting splits during the 2022-23 season.
Contract Status: First year of a two-year contract worth around $4.7 million with a player option for the 2025-26 season.
Expectations
Clippers fans were a little apprehensive when the team signed Kevin Porter this offseason, and rightfully so. Porter’s time with the Houston Rockets was cut short amid domestic violence accusations. It might take them a while to warm up to him, if they ever do.
In terms of what he brings on the court, expectations should also be tempered. He has not played in the NBA for over a year now and will likely need time to readjust. Even then, he is behind Terance Mann and Norman Powell on the shooting guard depth chart. He can play a little point guard and small forward but he has players ahead of him there as well.
It’s in fans’ best interest to keep expectations for Porter low this season. If he does end up contributing in some meaningful way, it will be a bonus. He’s essentially a reclamation project.
Strengths
Porter is an extremely gifted scorer. Simply put, he can put up points and put up a lot of them. Through his four seasons in the NBA, he holds a 15.3 point scoring average. He’s a bucket from anywhere on the court. His shooting percentages are pretty solid as well. He holds a career average of 35.7 percent shooting from three-point range. He’s one of those players who can get into a zone offensively.
He’s a good playmaker too. He can play point guard and has been a solid facilitator during his NBA career thus far. He has a career mark of 5.0 assists per game and the only time he’s averaged under five assists was his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2.2).
Overall, Porter is a good player with the ball in his hands. The question is will he ever have the ball in his hands enough with the Clippers to be effective.
Weaknesses
Before looking at any other weaknesses, there’s one major issue to highlight about Porter. His attitude has not been the best since he’s been in the NBA. Not even getting into the off the court stuff, Porter’s time in Cleveland came to an end following a locker room outburst that included a confrontation with current Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman.
With the Rockets, Porter was involved in another confrontation, this time with former Houston assistant coach John Lucas. That incident resulted in Porter bizarrely leaving the game at halftime and apparently going home.
And back when he was in college at USC, he was suspended from the team for a period for undisclosed reasons.
The Clippers have had strong personalities in the locker room, but nothing of this magnitude. Tyronn Lue is a no-nonsense coach though, and he’ll be tasked with keeping Porter in check.
Porter is also a somewhat high turnover player. Each of his three seasons with the Rockets he averaged a little over three per game. He can tend to fall in love with questionable shots too, especially when he’s on a hot streak.
Summary
To be frank, the nightmare that Porter reportedly was in Cleveland and Houston should have been enough to never see him again in the NBA, let alone his off the court problems.
But the thinking seems to be that his basketball talent can outweigh any potential negatives. Porter surely has to realize that he’s been given an incredibly privileged opportunity. Players have washed out of the NBA for far less.
There were accusations that Porter often became disengaged in games with the Rockets when not given the ball. And there are no indications that Porter has changed at all. Vibes are always good in training camp.
But the Clippers front office apparently sees something in Porter. Their last reclamation project, Josh Primo, didn’t exactly pan out. Porter is much more talented than Primo though. But the question remains, at what point does his negativity outweigh his potential benefits?
