2019 Draft

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Kevin Porter Jr. Interview

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Facts and Stats About Kevin Porter Jr.

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired the draft rights to guard Kevin Porter Jr. from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Utah’s 2020 second round pick, Portland’s 2021 and 2023 second round picks, Miami’s 2024 second round pick (protected) and cash considerations. Porter Jr. was originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft before having his draft rights sent to Detroit by Milwaukee along with guard Tony Snell in exchange for forward Jon Leuer.

Porter Jr. (6-6, 218) played one year collegiately at the University of Southern California, appearing in 21 games (four starts) and averaging 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 22.1 minutes per game while shooting .471 from the field and .412 from three-point range (sixth in Pac-12). The Seattle, Washington native played at Rainier Beach High School, where he was voted the No. 1 player in the state of Washington and named 2018 “Mr. Basketball” by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association his senior year. He was named Co-Player of the Year as a senior at the 2018 Allen Iverson Roundball Classic.

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Cavs Acquire Draft Rights to Kevin Porter Jr.

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Kevin Porter Jr. Completes Cleveland's First Round Troika

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
		6/26/19 | Cavs.com

On Wednesday, less than a week after the smoke cleared on the 2019 NBA Draft, the Wine &amp; Gold made it official – formally announcing the acquisition of Kevin Porter Jr., the final pick of the first round who was acquired by Cleveland via Milwaukee and Detroit.

There isn’t a big scouting report on the Seattle native, who played just 21 games at Southern Cal after dealing with a quad injury followed by a two-game team suspension. He was limited to just 21 games for the Trojans, but did enough to impress scouts and become a first round selection.

The 6-6, 218-pound shooting guard idolizes fellow lefty, James Harden. He’ll have to pump up his numbers to reach that strata, but he showed glimpses of that potential in college – averaging 9.5 points, 4.0 boards and 1.4 assists, shooting 52 percent from the floor, including 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Porter’s two best games at USC might have been his first – netting 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench against Robert Morris – and his last – dropping a career-high 17 points against a stingy Washington Huskies squad in the Pac-12 Tourney.

Despite his up-and-down freshman season at USC, there’s no denying his physical gifts. He’s a legit 6-6 with a 6-9 wingspan, is an outstanding ball-handler for a man his size and has all the tools to become a top-flight defender at the pro level. On the negative side, he needs to be a better decision-maker (averaging 1.9 turnovers to just 1.4 assists) and will have to be much more efficient at the free throw line, where he shot just 52 percent.

Porter came to USC as the top-ranked prospect from Washington state – ranked as highly as No. 28 overall by 247Sports. He stumbled in his single year at school, but apparently went a long way in rehabbing his reputation during the pre-Draft process.

This summer and next fall, he’ll be looking for minutes among a crowded young backcourt – that got a little more crowded 25 picks earlier when the Wine &amp; Gold tabbed Darius Garland.

Kevin Porter Jr. averaged 9.5 points and shot 41 percent from long-range during his freshman season with the Trojans.
					Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

A strong NBA bloodline doesn’t guarantee anything, but it doesn’t hurt. When the Cavs tabbed Darius Garland, they made him the third player on the squad whose father played in the league – joining Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr.

Darius’ dad, Winston Garland, was the 40th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1987. He played seven NBA seasons with five different teams – netting nearly 4,800 points in 511 career contests. He’s in the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame (where his son will one day join him). Darius won four state titles during his prep career in the Hoosier state, avenging his pops – whose school lost the state championship on a buzzer-beater by Scott Skiles in 1982.

Being a second-generation NBA player can have its plusses and minuses, but first-year Cavs assistant (and second-generation NBA coach) J.B. Bickerstaff thinks the advantages are tangible.

”You get to see the ins and outs of the game and the everyday lifestyle of the game,” said Bickerstaff. “When you’re just a fan or just a guy who’s trying to make it without that insight – you see things on TV, you see things that are made public, but you never see the private side.

”And being the son of an NBA player, you get to see the private side of it, you get to understand the routine of shootaround, the routine of practice days, the getting in at 2 o’clock in the morning, and then having your own family and trying to figure out how to find time for them and how you separate from your family when you need to. All the things that are very difficult, especially for young guys who are just trying to navigate their way.”

Every June, the debate rages on – Proof vs. Potential. The Cavaliers – with their three first rounders – took a little from Column A and little from Column B.  Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. played 26 combined games in college; Dylan Windler started 96 games at Belmont.

Windler – a four-year man who the Warriors were reportedly smitten with – racked up 100 triples and 18 double-doubles as a senior and was one of just three Division I players to average 20.0 points and 10.0 boards. He was also one of four seniors that were taken in the first round this year – joining UNC’s Cameron Johnson (Phoenix, No. 11), Washington’s Matisse Thybulle (Boston, 20) and Virginia’s Ty Jerome (Phoenix, 24).

Windler didn’t work his way up the depth chart over his four seasons at the Nashville-based mid-major. He shot 43 percent from deep as a junior and 40 percent as a sophomore. He averaged double-digit rebounds over his last two seasons and shot 85 percent from the stripe as a senior.

Some players are ready to roll after just a single season of college ball. Others need a couple seasons to refine their game. But four-year college guys have proven themselves time and again of late, and the Cavaliers roster is all the proof one needs. Both Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming) and Matthew Dellavedova (St. Mary’s) were four-year guys, and it’s safe to say things have worked out pretty well for both.

With the Porter pick being made official, the Cavaliers will now come to Training Camp with three first rounders from the same Draft for the first time in team history.

The only other team to emerge from last Thursday night with three first rounders was New Orleans – who grabbed F Zion Williamson (1), C Jaxon Hayes (8) and G Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17).

How new Head Coach John Beilein plans to play his young roster will begin taking shape in July – as the Cavaliers hit both NBA Summer Leagues this year. And while the squad will look to work out the kinks out West, this year’s Training Camp should be a competitive one.

Here are some of the positional battles that should shape up over the next couple months.

* In Friday’s introductory presser, John Beilein asserted that it won’t matter whether Collin Sexton or Darius Garland is actually the true point guard. That may be so, but as of the 2019-20 season, the NBA still plays with one ball at a time – and both players operate better with it in their hands. There are end-of-game and size-mismatch scenarios that will need to be worked out before the regular season tips off. On the positive side, the two will push each other in both practice and the real thing.

* Cedi Osman showed huge improvement from his rookie to sophomore seasons – upping his scoring average over 9.0 points in the process. But with Cleveland’s banged-up frontline, he didn’t face much competition last year. (He was even pressed into some duty at the 4.) But he’ll have Dylan Windler to contend with this year. Windler did a little bit of everything at Belmont and, as a four-year man, comes to Cleveland pro-ready. Can the Young Cedi hold him off?

* Brevin Knight started the final 26 games of the season next to Collin Sexton, but things will be much different this season. Assuming the Cavs stick with the plan to play Sexton and Garland together – and Jordan Clarkson returning as the Eastern Conference’s top-scoring reserve – that reduces backcourt minutes for the remainder to fight over. Among Matthew Dellavedova, Knight, Kevin Porter Jr. (and possibly Windler), it’ll be true competition.

* Cleveland’s collection of veteran bigs was barely affected by this past Draft. But this fall, the Cavaliers will get a player back who’s yet to don a Cavaliers uniform in John Henson – giving Cleveland something it hasn’t had in many moons: a reliable rim-protector. Last year, the Wine &amp; Gold finished dead-last in blocked shots – swatting just 195 attempts. (The Pistons, ranked 29th, blocked 331. Golden State, which led, the league, registered 525.)

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Rounding It Out

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2019 Draft Behind-the-Scenes

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10 Facts and Stats About Darius Garland

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Newest Cavs Strike a Pose

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Rookies Meet the Media on Friday Afternoon in Independence

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
		6/21/19 | Cavs.com

One night after his first war room experience as head coach of the Cavaliers, John Beilein could barely keep the smile off his face on Friday afternoon – with (most of) his talented incoming freshman class seated to his right and his newly-assembled coaching staff in the audience.

As the media gathered to meet the Wine &amp; Gold’s newest Draft picks – Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland and Belmont swingman Dylan Windler – Cleveland’s coach had visions of this season’s backcourt dancing in his head.

On Draft night, Koby Altman talked about the pairing of the explosive Garland and last year’s top pick – All-Rookie performer Collin Sexton. On Friday, Beilein discussed that potential tandem again, and after a little X’s and O’s talk, surmised it succinctly: “The two of them are going to be beautiful together – and they’re going to make me a much better coach than I am.”

Garland – the No. 5 overall pick in 2019 Draft – played only four college contests before suffering a left knee injury in the fifth. But scouts saw enough of the youngster who won four straight Tennessee high school state championships to make him a Lottery pick. And the Cavaliers contingent saw a jaw-dropping private workout in Los Angeles that convinced them to take him fifth overall.

”I think I shot the ball really well in the private workout and I think that’s what caught coach’s eye,” smiled the former McDonald’s All-American. “There was a little bit of pressure, because the whole (Cavaliers) staff came. And that really meant a lot to me, that they were really interested. I knew I had to come put on a show for them.”

Coach Beilein added: “He was shooting from back in Nashville and we were out in California.”

Garland – the son of former NBA player, Winston Garland – was a five-star recruit out of Brentwood Academy and committed to Vanderbilt as the top recruit in school history. He got off to a blazing start, leading both squads with 24 points in a win over Winthrop in his debut and dropping 33 points on Liberty two games later. Early in his next start – a November 23 meeting against Kent State – he went down with the meniscus injury that cut his college career short.

Head coach John Beilein poses with the Cavaliers' two first round selections from the 2019 Draft - Vandy's Darius Garland (right) and Belmont's Dylan Windler (left).
					Photo by Aaron Josefcyk

”It was really challenging for me,” said Garland. “That was the first time I had been away from the game that I really love, so it was really hard. But everyone faces adversity, I got over the whole thing, and that's all in the past. Now I'm ready to get going in Cleveland.”

Garland barely got his college career going before it wrapped up and he began preparing for the Draft. The man seated to his right, Dylan Windler, has been preparing for the Draft for the past four years – compiling a prolific run at Belmont, leading the mid-major to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The two-sport athlete posted a monster senior season at Belmont, just down the street from Vanderbilt – shooting 43 percent from deep, canning 100 triples and piling up 18 double-doubles along the way. In the Bruins’ First Round loss to Maryland, the 22-year-old from Indianapolis went off for 35 points and 11 boards.

“It’s been a pretty smooth transition,” said Windler, one of just three Division I players last season to average at least 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. “Obviously, it’s a bit different coming from Belmont to the pros, but to be able to leave Belmont as such a great program and being able to play for Coach Byrd and help him get those wins in the Tournament and just represent Belmont and all the mid-majors everywhere is definitely an honor.”

Windler, who admitted on Friday he can mash a golf ball 350 feet, will give Beilein and the Cavaliers some much-needed size in the backcourt, although like most teams in today’s NBA, it’s less about positions and more about matchups and combinations.

When asked which guard – Sexton or Garland – will be considered the 1, Beilein responded, “It doesn’t make a difference. It’s the whole idea of position-less basketball. It will all depend on who we’re playing and who’s playing well, who’s injured and hopefully we can just morph into whatever shape we need to take for games as time goes on.”

The rookie duo gives Coach Beilein a pair of skilled youngsters to take into his debut season with the Wine &amp; Gold. He and the Cavaliers have a plan – and their two first rounders will begin putting that process into effect this summer.

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Pair of Aces

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