Where do you think Kevin Porter Jr. will be for the 2023-24 season?

You obviously haven’t met @jiggyfly

I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t jumped in here already to say players getting in their car to leave at halftime happens all the time and isn’t a big deal. He must be traveling or something.

 

I'm not impressed by voters. Again, he never "led" ANY team and he was a 3 and D role player. The fact that his defense was elite does not change that.

If you take his 3rd through 10th season, so you can make him look as good as possible only considering his absolute prime, he was a 16.5/5/3 with a .519 TS%

KPJ's last 2 seasons were 16/4/6 with a .530 TS%

His upside is considerably higher than what Artest managed individually.

 

06-07 NBA Champion Manu Ginobili
27.5 mpg 16.5 points 3.5 assists 4.4 rebounds 1.5 stl 2.1 to 39.6%_3s 11.4 fga

21-22 Clutchfans Punching Bag Kevin Porter Jr.
31.3 mpg 15.6 points 6.2 assists 4.4 rebounds 1.1 stl 3.1 to 37.5%_3s 13.2 fga

Maybe he should think about being 6th man? Manu didn't start he always came in and wrecked your **** when Duncan and Parker were done wrecking your ****. And then they all wrecked your **** together for the 4th quarter.

Manu was also a beast on 2p% and the free throw line. Porter brings more to the table than people want to admit because he had a moment. Porter is a good player and because he's so young there's still the potential he becomes a star. Jabari Duncan? Jalen Parker? Steven Popovich?

 

I'm over extending the Artest part. Last post on this.

Artest did not "lead" any team because he was always the second or third best player on the teams he played. That is completely different than a role player. Was Rodman a role player to you in Chicago? Was Bosh in Miami? I could find so many stars that were the third best player in a team... Artest was a clear star in the league. He became a role player after the first year in the Lakers, with limited minutes, lesser contribution, etc.

Also, the "lead" part I mentioned about Artest was quite specific in the playoff series vs the Lakers. When we needed someone to step up, he did it, just like stars does.

Upside, potential... that's all you can talk about KPJ.
KPJ hasn't proven he could be a star so far, as he is not even in the best top 40 guards while having starter minutes.
So he doesn't get to receive special treatment. This year is his last shot at proving he is anywhere near as good as you think he is. OR... Him to accept a different role.

I do hope he becomes a superstar here in the Rockets. I am a Rockets fan before anything. I will be the first to say to you "you were right @Bobbythegreat"... But I see what I see.

 

Eh, I’d rather him drive off to nowhere then punch me in the face.

 

I had more of a Eric Gordon / Lou Williams high upside on him. But if KPJ becomes Manu aka the US Olympic team killer... Even better

 

I think you'll find that's true of basically all players that just turned 22.

That's the same things we talk about work Green and Smith too.

 

Agreed

Vernon wasn't excused from the 95 squad bc he was a hothead with violent tendencies
He was always Mad Max, even starting for the ring a year before

His teammates voted him off the team in 95 bc he had become unreliable and the team felt he wasn't committed to the mission of repeating

KPJ's trust by his teammates will ultimately decide his fate here IMO
Bailing at halftime was strike 1 here with guys in that locker room
Just wait till Bari n Tari take control

 

Problem is I suspect his trade value isn’t very high so we can’t get good return. He’s got great talent albeit a loose cannon. I’d keep him if the price is right.

 

Well I think the “Porter Show” is coming to an end. His role has to change, IMO. Is he going to be able to stay out of the way of Green, Smith and to a lesser degree Sengun and even Eason? If he can’t maybe we should just let him find a new home. The catch and shoot with his improved defense does a lot of promise. Porter’s play will have to change to fit the team. He has value to us but will he take a lesser role? The organization has changed coaching, players and expectations. The real question is what does Porter want?

 

Spot on

 

Maybe not in the league if no deal with Houston or a contender getting him on a vet min contract to see if they can play him.

 

I had the same thought, “out of the league” should have been a choice.

I actually think the distribution is like 70% with the Rox in some capacity, 15% with another team, 15% not in the NBA.

 

My stance on KPJ hasn't really changed.

He is a bit of a wild card, and he is NOT a keep no matter what kind of player.

We don't know how well he fits long term with our true core, we don't know about his "attitude", we don't know who our next premiere draft pick will be and if that jives with KPJ (What if it is Scoot? or one of the other guards).

We are really fortunate that we have the advantage of the restricted free agency system. We can wait and see what kind of deal he gets, and then make a decision on him after having another year of data AND knowing what our roster looks like next year.

Wait and see.....

 

If he still pouts and doesnt run back on defense this year hes done. No one will want this kind of a player, doesnt matter how good his offense gets. He'll go to China or Europe and finish up his career there

 

Its pretty interesting. Rockets saved his career but he’s at a crossroads now. Rebuilding teams prob don’t want him as he likely doesn’t fit into their plans. With the track history of lack of ability of dealing with adversity contending teams might stay away. If anyone is to give him a shot it probably wouldn’t be a competitive salary because there’s no market for him barring an amazing season. There’s still hope he cleans up his play but it’s not likely in my opinion.

 

I am pretty confident that KPJ will work out. He's always going to have some issues, but I don't think that's a barrier for him to be a contributor, in fact it may work out well if it gives the Rockets a discount on his salary.

Many championship teams has a guy who doesn't have it together in the head. Rondo, Artest, Rodman. I think Jabari and Green can set the tone. It also seems JG has taken him in and I think the combination of the players and the coaching staff will be able to control him.

 

We are playing him out of position, but we don’t really have a starting caliber alternative…yet. He’s done an admirable job trying to be a point guard and I can’t think of a player who improved his game more last year, maturity issues aside.

Unfortunately I do think the development of our other prospects will suffer without a true floor general, but the reality is KPJ is in this role for one more year. If he sticks with the team long term, I think he’s gonna have to move to the wing, or come off the bench as the 6th man.

If we found a good point guard I’d have no problem running KPJ out there at the 3, plus minutes at the 2 when Green is out. I definitely want him to play starters minutes, but I don’t want him running the floor.

if he can go next year without an incident, and his price tag isn’t too step, I do think he’s a versatile talent worth resigning.

 

Outside of Jalen Green and Jabari Smith, I wouldn't get too attached to any player, certainly not KPJ.

KPJ is a polarizing player for understandable reasons. In terms of his future, there is a good chance it will be with someone else, even if he plays really well all season. For one, there is the possibility that he plays well enough where the team weighs the type of contract he should receive with where they are in a rebuild and decide against paying him that money, especially if another team is offering him more than we want to pay. There is the possibility that he plays pretty well, but also has shaky moments, and that Nix and TyTy emerge as competent and quality PGs, at which point the team truly feels that Nix is a lottery-quality PG or maybe that TyTy is so good that KPJ has become expendible.

There is also the possibility that this team stinks again and is left in the draft position where its best available prospect is Scoot Henderson, in which case KPJ becomes a player without a clear role. Christopher gives you a decent sixth-man point boost, KPJ after starting for two seasons may not be amenable to a bench role, and Eason could well emerge as the better all-around SF to fit in alongside Green, Smith, and co.

The long and short of it is that this season is a development year, and KPJ is under the microscope like everyone else in the team. If he ends up as a spectacular starting PG for us, that's fantastic, but even if he doesn't, I wouldn't dislike KPJ the player or think the FO made a bad move. KPJ was given to us for free, and he remains a player with tremendous potential. It's just a question of whether he'll ever actualize that potential in the pros.

 

Kevin Porter Jr in the second half played well enough to deserve the starting point guard job going into this season.

One of the two things the front office asked him to work on last year was defense and he improved from a horrendous defender to an adequate defender who at times could be good. He also guarded two guards without complaint. He deserves credit for that.

I don’t think he is a winning player. He doesn’t do a lot of things to make his team better, but he is 23 years old and has been on bad teams and has dealt with emotional and psychiatric issues. However he has earned the opportunity to start this year.

I at this point would not pay him big money because I don’t trust him. However another year and improved play and staying out of trouble will go a long way. He is surrounded by better teammates as well.

Personally I don’t think he is a point guard but more of a Jamal Crawford type player that can be an elite 6th man. He probably doesn’t want to hear that, but that may be his ideal role.

I personally expect a more conventional point guard to eventually run the offense. However after the defensive improvement last, perhaps his passing and control of the tempo will improve as well. He is a very talented basketball player.