Craig Porter Jr. enters his fourth season in Cleveland with the same question that has followed him for a while now: where exactly does he fit?
The answer has never been about whether Porter can play. Every time he has gotten a chance, he has flashed enough to keep the conversation alive.
The issue is how often that chance has actually come. Over his first three years with the Cavs, he has bounced in and out of the rotation, squeezed by the team’s depth decisions and the health of the players ahead of him.
A season ago, Porter was in line for steady minutes before the Cavaliers added James Harden and Dennis Schröder in February trades to bolster a guard group that was dealing with problems. Before that move, the Wichita State product had been soaking up all of Lonzo Ball’s minutes.
Now the bigger issue is less about production and more about the business side of the roster. Porter’s deal for the upcoming season is worth $2.4 million, and the Cavs do not have much room to spend without pushing into the aprons. That reality has already helped put Porter into trade chatter.
The financial pressure is part of why younger and cheaper options matter so much. Rookie second-round pick Meleek Thomas will make less than Porter for each of the next two seasons.
Khalifa Diop is on a four-year contract with only 2026-27 currently guaranteed and is also making less. Tyrese Proctor, a 2025 second-round pick, will make less this year as well.
Both guards are locked into inexpensive deals for the next few years, and that kind of cost control tends to shape roster decisions.
That does not mean Porter is out of the picture. If he wins the backup point guard job and stays on the floor every night, he could still hang around. In that scenario, he would not be in line for a huge offseason payday, especially if his contract becomes fully guaranteed in January while he remains with the team.
What Porter has shown, though, is a useful player who has not quite become an every-night fixture. He has played well in his minutes for three straight seasons, but he has not turned himself into an 82-game type of presence. He did post a career high with 64 games in 2025-26 and averaged 17.9 minutes per game.
His strongest trait is still his passing. Porter is a quality facilitator, but the best version of that skill shows up when he has the ball in his hands. With James Harden and Donovan Mitchell both around, Cleveland will usually have at least one of them on the court, which could push Porter into more of an SG role and cut into the playmaking chances that make him most dangerous.
Still, the numbers back up the idea that there is value there. Per 36 minutes last season, he averaged 6.4 assists.
For now, the expectation is that Porter finishes the season in Cleveland. But if the Cavaliers become convinced that Meleek Thomas and/or Tyrese Proctor can handle point guard duties and create for others, Porter may be looking for a new home when 2027-28 opens.
In Other News...
Jarrett Allen Just Put Clevelands Biggest Lineup Question In Focus
Jarrett Allens remarks this week landed in a familiar place for the Cavaliers, where the conversation has long circled back to lineup continuity and how much time the core actually gets to work together. Allen said he and several key teammates barely shared the floor last season, a reality that made it harder for Cleveland to build the kind of rhythm it wants heading into another push in the East.
The encouraging part for the Cavs is that Allen sounded confident the group can be sharper with a steadier run together this year, especially if the roster gets the kind of uninterrupted stretch it lacked before. For a team that has spent plenty of time trying to answer how its best pieces fit in high-leverage moments, that kind of continuity may end up mattering as much as anything else. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylon Tyson Is Forcing A New Coaching Challenge For The Cavs
Jaylon Tyson has made enough of an impression in Cleveland that Kenny Atkinson is already having to manage more than just his on-court development. Entering his third NBA season, Tyson has flashed real upside, including a 39-point game and a Rising Stars appearance, and the Cavaliers are still sorting through the best way to mold that potential into a lasting rotation piece.
The coaching challenge now is less about talent than tone. Atkinson said Tyson responds best to positive coaching, which is a useful note for a young player trying to carve out his place on a veteran-minded team, especially with Cleveland holding a team option on him for the 2027-28 season that must be decided by Oct. 31. For a player still trying to secure his long-term standing, the next stretch could say a lot about how the Cavs plan to handle him moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Jarrett Allen Just Gave Cavs Fans Another Reason To Love Him
Jarrett Allen has long fit Clevelands vibe, and his latest appearance only reinforced it. On a Sunday before the Browns hosted the Ravens, Allen was out in the Muni Lot playing beer die with fans at a tailgate event, a relaxed bit of hometown mixing that always seems to land well with the citys sports crowd. It also came at a time when the big man is settling into his sixth full season with the Cavaliers, with his status as one of the teams more recognizable faces only growing over time.
For Cavs fans, the timing makes the moment even more notable. Cleveland is closing in on its regular-season opener against the 76ers, and Allen has already been part of recent preseason action as the team gets ready to start the year. The connection with the city has never really felt forced, and scenes like this are part of why he continues to be such an easy player for the fan base to embrace. [Read more 🡒]