Rockets Exercise Contract Option On Kevin Porter Jr.

The Rockets have exercised the fourth-year contract of guard Kevin Porter Jr., as relayed by Ben DeBose of Rockets Wire.

Porter, 21, is 6-foot-4 and was acquired by the Rockets in a trade with the Cavs last season. He averaged 16.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 26 games with the Rockets.

This year, he is averaging 12.4 points and 6.0 assists through the first six games. He is also shooting a career-high 36 percent on 3-pointers.

“He remains the team’s starting point guard and is a clear focal point of Houston’s rebuilding plan and its goal to give more minutes to younger players,” DuBose wrote.

Houston is staying committed to Porter’s development alongside No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green in the backcourt, added Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle.

“Under the rules of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Porter can become a free agent in 2023; the Rockets can extend him a qualifying offer worth $4.82 million that summer,” Huq wrote.

Porter was selected by the Bucks with the No. 30 pick in the 2019 draft, then immediately traded to the Pistons, along with Tony Snell, for Jon Leuer. The Pistons immediately flipped Porter to the Cavs for cash, and second-round picks in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024.

The Cavs traded Porter to the Rockets for a 2024 second-round pick and a trade exception in January after Porter had a dustup in the locker room.