Trade for Porter completed
The Rockets’ trade for second-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. was completed on Friday. The plan for when he would return to the court remained uncertain.
Porter, 20, has not played this season while he was out for what was termed personal reasons after several incidents that led to the Cavaliers determination to trade him. Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he, assistant coach John Lucas and general manager Rafael Stone spoke with Porter on Thursday but plans are not in place for when he will join the Rockets or on the training plan before he can play.
“We don’t really know what the next step is as far as when he’s going to be coming down and what the plan is but that’s something we’re going to have to sit down and really, really think about what’s best for him and what’s best for our group because he hasn’t done much for a little while,” Silas said. “He’s been working out in high schools in Cleveland to try to stay in shape, but that’s nothing near playing an NBA game. So, I wouldn’t anticipate him playing in an NBA game relatively soon, but we just have to make sure that the structure is in place for him to be able to succeed on the basketball floor as well as off.”
Silas referred several times to a plan to help Porter “off the court” along with the work to prepare for a return to the court. The last player taken in the 2019 first round, Porter averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.2 minutes per game last season.
“He obviously hasn’t played in a while so it’s going to be up to us to really come up with a good structure for him on and off the court for him to be successful, and we’re committed to that,” Silas said. “He obviously is very talented. He is versatile on both ends of the floor and can do a lot on the basketball court, and we feel like we have the structure in place to let him be successful.
“He’s excited about the potential of adding to our group. It’s up to us to have honest conversations back and forth and develop a relationship, but it’s an exciting thing to have a young guy who has potential.”
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, a former Rockets assistant and interim head coach who is a friend with Silas, spoke with Silas about Porter’s potential and recommended him.
“There’s a lot there,” Silas said. “We are committed. He made me feel good about getting the kid, for sure.”
Wood’s growth started in Detroit
Pistons coach Dwane Casey had been warned not to take a chance on Christian Wood. He ignored them. More than that, before Wood became the Rockets’ primary free agent target and starting center, he had a breakthrough season with the Pistons, showing no signs of professionalism issues that Casey was warned to avoid.
“It started last summer,” Casey said. “In the summer before he came here (and) that fall, he was working out in the volunteer workouts and kicking everybody’s behind and you could just see it. But everybody’s calling around the country, don’t take him, leave him along, da, da, da. I never saw that, never experienced it, never saw it. I just asked Christian to meet me halfway, and he did and then some.
“So, I was proud of the way he took himself through the year, and you could just see the growth. He’s maturing and did so right here. When he had his opportunity to start, he took advantage of it. Happy for him, proud of him and to see his growth. They sky’s going to be the limit for the young man. He’s one of the most talented big men in the league. And so, I’m excited for him personally.”
Wood is the Rockets’ leading scorer and rebounder. Casey did not, however, see examples of Wood’s growth Friday with Wood out of the Rockets’ game in Detroit and the second half of the back-toback Saturday in Dallas with a sprained ankle.
Silas remembers Aaron’s influence
Rockets coach Stephen Silas spent part of Friday reading about the life of baseball legend Hank Aaron, who died at 86 on Friday, inspiring admiration for the grace with which Aaron handled adversity and bigotry.
“It just seems like we’re losing so many people, so many great sports icons, so many just icons overall,” Silas said. “With him, especially, as we’re watching and reading this stuff about him, and the reaction that people had to him hitting home runs, you know all he’s doing is trying to help his team and hit home runs and people are sending death threats and letters. You can really see the relief on his face when he finally broke the record, and the quote that he had, ‘I’m just happy it’s over.’ You can just see it, and it’s a shame that even had to go through that.
“Like I said, a week ago, we stand on the shoulders of people like him, who went through a lot in order for us to be in the positions that we are. So, we have a responsibility to carry the torch. It’s a different sport, different whatever, but we’re all Americans and we’re all kind of hoping to be pulling in the same direction. The admiration I have for him and how he handled it and how he moved forward from, it was really cool stuff.”