Houston Rockets’ general manager Rafael Stone said at Houston’s media day on Monday that they have told Kevin Porter Jr. that he cannot be with the team in any capacity in the wake of his domestic violence arrest last month. The 23-year-old Porter was arrested after an alleged attack on his former girlfriend in a New York City hotel room Sept. 11. Prosecutors said that the attack left her with a fractured neck vertebra and a deep cut above her right eye. Porter has pleaded not guilty to felony assault and strangulation and is due back in court in Manhattan on Oct. 16.
Stone said: “The allegations against him are deeply troubling. Going back a few weeks, as soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets. They understood and he has not been with the team or around the team or had any interaction with the team since that time and will not be at media day today or in training camp. Stone added that everything else related to Porter and his situation falls under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, and will be handled by the league: “What’s left for the team to do is to evaluate the best steps for our organization that remain in compliance with the league domestic violence policy.”
Porter signed a four-year, $82.5 million contract with the Rockets before last season; last year, Porter averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in his third year in Houston after one season in Cleveland When Stone was asked if he believes Porter will ever be part of the team again, he said: “I can’t answer that and stay in compliance with the policy. So I think this is now a league matter.”
This is not Porter’s first brush with the law; while playing for the Cavaliers, Porter was arrested in November 2020 after police said they found a loaded handgun and marijuana in his car after a single-vehicle crash; those charges were eventually dismissed. Porter was traded from Cleveland to Houston a few months later after he reportedly ‘blew up’ at the Cavaliers’ general manager after discovering his locker had been moved to make room for a new player. Then in January 2022, the Rockets suspended Porter for a game after then-coach Stephen Silas said he had a “spirited debate” and “lost his temper” at halftime.
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