Craig Porter Jr. went into this season with a chance to claim a real role in Cleveland. Instead, the Cavaliers have made their stance obvious through the way they’ve built and shuffled the backcourt around him.
The message has come less in words than in moves. Cleveland has spent the last two drafts taking guards, a clear sign the team has kept looking for answers at a spot where two All-Star guards already start and a backup was supposed to be in place.
Last season brought more of the same. Lonzo Ball was brought in to fill that job, but his game fell off a cliff.
Then, at the Trade Deadline, the Cavaliers added Dennis Schroder, who handled the role through the playoffs.
Porter Jr. was largely left out of those plans. In the postseason, he was out of the rotation altogether and only appeared in mop-up duty, logging 21 minutes across 18 games.
This season initially looked like a fresh opening. Cleveland moved Schroder in a trade to create room for Peyton Watson, and the team did not bring in a veteran point guard to take over.
Porter, now in his fourth year, seemed positioned to finally settle into the backup job. He has been a steady ballhandler and a perfectly decent shooter, which made the opportunity look real.
It didn’t last.
Porter got only two games as the so-called backup point guard, playing just over six minutes per night before being removed from the rotation completely. Rookie second-round guard Meleek Thomas is now averaging 20 minutes per game, Tyrese Proctor has entered the mix, and Donovan Mitchell is handling more of the offense himself.
That leaves Porter in a tough spot. He’s in the final year of the bargain contract he signed as an undrafted free agent, and this could easily end up being his last season in Cleveland.
He was eligible for an extension this offseason, but nothing came together. There wasn’t even any real buzz around a deal.
If the Cavaliers had viewed Porter as part of their long-term picture, they had the leverage to get something done. Instead, they let the deadline pass without an agreement and opened the season with him outside the rotation. Injuries will almost certainly create some chances for him down the line, but the broader picture is hard to miss: Cleveland doesn’t trust him with the job right now, and if that doesn’t change, the team will likely look elsewhere next summer.
In Other News...
Ty Jerome Just Gave Cavaliers Fans A Needed Breather
Ty Jeromes first rough night in Memphis offered Cavaliers fans a small dose of comfort after months of wondering what Cleveland gave up when he walked. Since leaving for the Grizzlies, Jerome has been one of the names fans have circled whenever his new team looks like it may have gotten the better end of the deal, so a quieter performance against Portland was bound to draw some attention back in Northeast Ohio.
He still helped Memphis come away with a win, which keeps the larger conversation from going away entirely, but the game did interrupt the easy momentum around his start with the Grizzlies. For Cavaliers fans, it was at least a reminder that the regret over letting Jerome leave does not have to grow every time he takes the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Keep Collapsing And Kenny Atkinson Has A Growing Problem
The Cavaliers uneven start has already given Kenny Atkinson plenty to sort through, and the latest setback only sharpened the concern. After the loss to Atlanta, Atkinson acknowledged that Cleveland has not been able to put together consistent stretches on either end, with the team repeatedly letting leads slip away early in the season.
What stands out most is how familiar the issues have become. Atkinson pointed to the same basic breakdowns that have haunted the Cavaliers in multiple games, especially around the defensive glass and the kind of lapses that turn a comfortable position into a scramble. With tougher matchups ahead, Cleveland is running out of time to turn those warning signs into clean, complete wins. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Collapse Should Put Kenny Atkinson Under Fresh Scrutiny
The Cavaliers had built a 15-point cushion after the first quarter, only to watch Atlanta chip away and eventually take control in a game that exposed some familiar late-game frustrations. Cleveland still got scoring from James Harden, who led the way with 24 points, and Donovan Mitchell added 22, but the offensive production was not enough to cover for the way the game unraveled after the opening period.
What stood out most was the second-half defensive drop-off, along with the coaching choices that came under the microscope as the Hawks kept pressing. The loss leaves Kenny Atkinson facing a fresh round of scrutiny, especially with the Cavaliers unable to protect a strong start or steady things when the game tightened late. [Read more 🡒]