NBA Notes: Cavs, Craig Porter Jr, Mavericks, Klay Thompson, Kings

Cavaliers

Craig Porter Jr. has spent three seasons proving he belongs in the NBA. The question entering Year 4 may be whether there’s still room for him in the Cavaliers’ rotation.

Zach Weiss of Cavs On SI makes the case that Porter deserves an opportunity after repeatedly producing when called upon. The problem isn’t necessarily Porter. It’s everybody around him.

Assuming James Harden re-signs, Cleveland has Harden and Donovan Mitchell handling much of the backcourt work. If Dennis Schroder is traded, Porter would still be competing with rookie Meleek Thomas and second-year guard Tyrese Proctor for backup minutes.

Porter has had his moments, including a 19-point, eight-rebound, four-block performance against Charlotte last season. He brings defense, playmaking and considerably more NBA experience than his younger competition.

Still, that’s life on a good team. Sometimes capable players get squeezed.

Porter doesn’t need to prove he belongs in the league anymore. He may need to prove Cleveland remains the best place for him to play.

Mavericks

Klay Thompson isn’t being particularly complicated about what he wants from the final stage of his career.

“I want to compete for a championship,” Thompson said during a Twitch appearance with PlaqueBoyMax. “I want to play a role on a team (that can make a deep playoff run).”

The 36-year-old Mavericks veteran has surfaced in trade and buyout speculation this offseason. Dallas reportedly has been open to trade possibilities but hasn’t pursued a buyout.

Thompson is entering the final year of his contract at $17.5 million.

His comments don’t necessarily mean he’s asking out of Dallas. But they do establish the obvious: At this stage, Thompson isn’t particularly interested in spending his remaining NBA seasons somewhere with no chance of playing meaningful basketball in May.

Whether the Mavericks can provide that opportunity could eventually become the more interesting question.

Kings

The Kings finally looked at an NBA schedule without immediately reaching for aspirin.

Will Zimmerle of Kings On SI notes that Sacramento’s opening stretch appears considerably more manageable than last season, when the Kings lost 13 of their first 16 games.

That miserable beginning included three meetings with Oklahoma City, two with Denver and two with Minnesota, along with injuries to Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.

This time, Sacramento gets something much friendlier: a seven-game homestand from Games 8 through 14.

Nobody should confuse that with a guarantee of success. The rebuilding Kings enter the season with an unusual mix of youngsters, including Darius Acuff Jr., and veterans still trying to establish exactly what this team is supposed to be.

But after last year’s schedule helped bury Sacramento before Thanksgiving, merely getting a reasonable opportunity to find its footing qualifies as progress.

Of course, there’s another side to this.

Plenty of opponents may be looking at their schedules and circling Sacramento as the easy game.

The Kings’ job is to make them regret it.