Porter full of praise for new hometown
Late night Friday, Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. took to Twitter to share some thoughts. He needed just 12 words spread across two tweets, but he could not have been more clear.
“I love Houston,” he tweeted.
“You gotta kill me to move on from Houston,” he followed soon after.
Porter was not traded to the Rockets until January. He had never played in Toyota Center while with the Cavaliers and did not play in Houston for the first time until March 12. But he left little doubt this weekend about how strongly he feels about his newly adopted hometown.
“It’s just my home, man,” Porter said. “I’m a one stone type a guy, a one place type of guy. I see myself here. I feel like this city just, I don’t know, the love I got for the city, man, I can’t really put a limit on it. They just welcomed me full force and I feel I can be myself. I can be confident in being the person I am.
“When you can be the person you are, people love you for that, man. It’s different a feeling. I just love Houston for that. I want to do everything I can to give back to them.”
Fan Fest draws a good crowd
After a one-year hiatus because of COVID restrictions, the Rockets brought back their annual Fan Fest, drawing 3,500 to Toyota Center and seeming to savor the experience.
“It felt great,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “It felt great pulling up to the Toyota Center and seeing the line of people outside waiting for our group, especially you know we had a rough game last night and we got in late. It was uplifting to see the fans and see the excitement around our group and see our guys responding to that assignment. It was really cool.”
Though the open practice portion of the event featured the familiar drills and dunks, along with brief shooting and dance contests, the exuberance of players, eight participating in such an event for the first time, was obvious.
“It usually is one of those things where you check the box,” Silas said. “A combination of the energy that we got from the fans as well as the youth of the group and we have a fun group of guys so stuff like this is fun for them. To do it in front of fans and all that makes it extra special. It wasn’t drudgery for our group to do it. It was fun.”
The crowd was larger than at any Rockets game last season, bringing a reminder of how different games will sound and feel this season.
“Houston did that for us, it was crazy,” Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. said. “It was a great feeling to feel tat energy, to feel that love out loud. It was crazy. Yeah.
“Fans bring a whole different atmosphere to this game. We need it. It makes everything better. I miss feeling the energy, the boos, the highs, everything. That keeps me motivated. If I hear someone booing me, I got something for you. If I’m home and I feel the energy, I’m feeding off of them. The fans and the energy that we have back in the arena this year is going to be a huge change.”
Porter did have one issue with Saturday’s event. He observed the rookie dance off featuring Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, Josh Christopher, Usman Garuba and Alperen Sengun and assessed the performances.
“Horrible,” he said. “I’m the best dancer so I critique every dancer that’s trying to dance. JG and Gup (Christopher) have some rhythm. If you have some rhythm, that’s half the battle.”
Exum waived to trim roster
Guard Dante Exum, trying to make a comeback after playing just six games last season, none after he was dealt to the Rockets in January’s James Harden trade, was waived Saturday to trim the Rockets’ roster to 15 players for the start of the season.
The Rockets had signed Exum to a three-year, $15 million contract before training camp, but the deal was nonguaranteed and had extensive incentive bonuses, making it a potentially valuable contract in trades.
Exum, 26, was the fifth player selected in the 2016 NBA draft but has been hampered throughout his career by injuries. His strong performance for Australia in the Tokyo Olympics earned attention around the league. He had played in the Rockets first three preseason games as a point guard in fourth quarters but had largely worked as a wing in practices. He did not play Friday in San Antonio.
The Rockets have yet to finalize a decision about their second two-way spot, but forward Anthony Lamb is considered a long shot to stick with the team.
Lamb, who picked up the Rockets’ qualifying offer of a two-way contract to return to training camp, played 24 games with the Rockets last season. The Rockets are, according to an individual familiar with the team’s thinking, looking at options among players waived in the final cutdowns that are eligible for a two-way deal.