Philadelphia 76ers: Doc Rivers is a perfect mentor for Kevin Porter Jr.

If Kevin Porter Jr. has truly played his final game in a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey, he leaves a complicated legacy behind, to say the least.

A near-consensus lottery pick who saw his stock drop significantly after being suspended indefinitely for “personal conduct issues” (as per ESPN), Porter was ultimately selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by third-year Cavs GM Kolby Altman – marking the team’s third selection of the round alongside Darius Garland and Dylan Windler.

Despite having an unconventional rookie season – being forced to play under two head coaches alongside a disgruntled Kevin Love – KPJ showed flashes of his USC form – averaging 10 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Are those numbers great? Not necessarily, but Porter still had enough solid outings – including a 30 point game against the Miami Heat back in February – for many a talent evaluator to consider the ex-Trojan the team’s best overall prospect, which is saying something considering just how well Collin Sexton had played since landing in Cleveland in 2018.

But then, things started to go off the rails.

It all started on November 15th, when, to quote Brian Windhorst, “Porter, 20, was arrested on Nov. 15 after a middle-of-the-night crash when he flipped his Mercedes SUV. He admitted to having been drinking earlier in the evening, and when police searched the car, they found a loaded handgun in the glove compartment and a small amount of marijuana.”

While a grand jury ultimately declined to indict Porter on any of the charges, the story became even more complicated when, two days after the initial incident, Cleveland.com reported that Porter was also being accused of “punching a woman in the face and ripping off her weave during an August fight in downtown Cleveland” which, again, is really not good.

Still, the Cavs kept Porter around, allowing the 20-year-old to take some time off to deal with personal issues through the first two months of the 2020-21 NHL season.

That, however, all changed on Tuesday, January 18th, when Porter reportedly lost his stuff when his locker was moved to make room for trade acquisition Taurean Prince, resulting in the winger screaming and throwing food at team officials.

Though still a talented player when he’s able to actually see the court, the Cavs have reportedly started soliciting trades for the second-year guard/forward and are willing to release him outright if a deal can’t be reached – which it probably won’t be since he has a 2021-22 option already picked up for next season.

Doc Rivers could help KPJ regardless of if he plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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When news broke that the Philadelphia 76ers had waived guard Dakota Mathias from his two-way contract, it left many a fan wondering if a corresponding move involving Kevin Porter Jr. was in the works.

It wasn’t/isn’t, of course, because Porter is on a one-way contract and could only slot into Mathias’ former role if he is waived, clears waivers, and agrees to sign a two-way deal when other teams will surely be interested, so I wholeheartedly imagine this move was purely coincidental.

With that being said, the idea isn’t the worst one I’ve heard on #NBAtwitter.

Not signing Porter outright, of course, as the team has literally legions of sub-6-foot-6 guards who shoot better than Porter, play better defense than Porter, and are less problematic than Porter at this stage of the game. But giving Porter a mentor, an OG, if you will, who has been through the ups and downs of the NBA might be just the tool needed for the still incredibly young scorer to get his situation back on track and leave a rocky start well in the rear-view mirror of a long and successful career.

As David Fizdale pointed out on The Jump, sometimes when a player is having issues like Porters so early in their career, it’s imperative to get them around veterans they can relate to and learn to carry themselves as NBA players the right way. In that regard, there isn’t a player, coach, or executive in the NBA who could serve as a better resource for Porter than Doc Rivers.

An NBA lifer who has been in the NBA in one way or another (nearly) uninterrupted since 1984, Rivers has experienced pretty much everything a player, coach, and executive could ask for in a professional basketball career. He’s played for good teams, played for bad teams, been traded, been hired as an interim head coach, been hired as a full-time head coach, won a championship, been given personnel control, and been fired in a season where his team made it to the second round of the playoffs.

Heck, Rivers is one of the rare NBA head coaches who was actually traded – a situation I highly doubt KPJ will ever be put in, but hey, you never know.

Assuming Jr. is ultimately released, and no team opts to claim him – because, you know, tampering charges – I would hope that Rivers could reach out and offer up his ear as a resource for the young guard as he attempted to navigate a promising career turned choppy by self-generated waves.

Remember, Rivers’ own son had some similar issues when he first entered the league – though his problems were more with his fellow teammates, not of a legal nature – and he’s suddenly turned his life around and become a focal point on a surprisingly not horrible New York Knicks. After serving as a mentor for coaches like Tyronn Lue, Tom Thibodeau, and even, funny enough, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, I imagine Rivers wouldn’t mind helping one more person out in his time of need.

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Whether Kevin Porter Jr. ends up being claimed by the Philadelphia 76ers, signs a two-way deal to fill the spot formerly held by Dakota Mathias, or ends up playing for another team, it’s clear his future is far less certain than what many a Cleveland Cavaliers fan assumed when they landed the steal of the draft in 2019. With a mentor like Doc Rivers in his corner, maybe KPJ can turn his life around, put 2020 (and change) behind him, and become the kind of player many assumed he could be when he was getting James Harden comps back in high school.