CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from Dec. 29, 2021.
It appears that Kevin Porter Jr. has played his final game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to a report from The Athletic, the Cavs plan to either trade or release their second-year swingman following an emotional outburst in the team's locker room this past weekend.
Per the report, the 20-year-old Porter, who has yet to play in a game this season, "began yelling and at one point threw food" after discovering that his locker had been given to veteran forward Taurean Prince, who Cleveland acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a four-way trade last week. Porter's locker had been moved near younger, end-of-the-bench players.
Porter remained "combative" with Cavs general manager Koby Altman, who confronted the USC product. Cleveland spent the weekend attempting to trade Porter, but have thus far been unsuccessful and doing so and is expected to release him should a deal not come to fruition.
In November, Porter was arrested and charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, along with failure to control and misdemeanor possession of marijuana after his 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE suffered apparent rollover damage on Interstate 76 in Mahoning County. Those charges have since been dropped.
According to a police report, Porter was alleged to have punched a woman in the face during an altercation at a downtown Cleveland apartment building in August. No charges were filed as a result of the incident.
A 5-star prospect coming out of high school, Porter saw uneven playing time and productivity during his lone season of college at USC. As Porter saw his draft prospects fall heading into the 2019 NBA Draft, the Cavs made a draft night trade with the Detroit Pistons to select Porter out of USC with the No. 30 pick.
Appearing in 50 games as a rookie, the 6-foot-4 swingman averaged 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists with a season-high of 30 points in a win over the Miami Heat on Feb. 24. Due to personal reasons, he had yet to appear in a game during the 2020-21 NBA season.