If their minds weren’t already made up, third-year point guard Kevin Porter Jr. may have recently given the Houston Rockets front office even more to consider when it comes to the debate over his next contract.
With veterans Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, and Dennis Schroder resting to finish the 2021-22 season, Porter took on a higher workload and averaged 28.7 points, 7.4 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in 38.3 minutes over the final seven games. He shot 48.0% from the field, 40.3% on 3-pointers 86.7% on free throws, and limited his turnovers to just 3.0 per game.
However, because Houston is currently positioned to have major salary cap room in the 2023 offseason, it’s not yet clear if they plan to offer Porter a contract extension this offseason. While the 21-year-old is eligible to receive a new deal, Houston may opt (for cap purposes) to wait on any offer until he enters restricted free agency after next season.
By doing that, Porter would be on the books at a lower cap figure, and because he would be restricted, the Rockets could match any outside offer and still retain him. Nonetheless, that strategy carries its own risk — in that if Porter builds on his elite finish and has a dynamic season, the price to keep him long-term could be much higher than it is now.
When asked at Monday’s end-of-season media availability about his contract, Porter made it clear that his focus is on the court.
“At the beginning of the season, I put too much pressure on myself, thinking about that type of thing,” he said. “Once I eased my mind off of it, I started to play better. So I don’t really want to put no mind to it. I love Houston, and they love me, so I’m sure that I’ll be here for a minute.”
Now in his second season with Houston, Porter developed significantly as a shooter, making 37.5% on 3-pointers after hitting only 31.1% a season ago. Yet, his accuracy on two-pointers slipped from 51.5% in 2020-21 to 45.6% this season. Next season, Porter wants to put it all together, and that includes an offseason emphasis on finishing at the rim.
“My rookie year was probably my best year finishing,” Porter said on Monday. “So I’m going to go back to some old tapes, and put some more work in during the offseason and come back even better.”
“It’s technical,” said Porter, who was asked about the challenge. “It’s hard to make layups in this league. You’ve got big guys coming late, rare contests, people diving and swiping down at you. You think you’ve got a wide open layup, but you really don’t. It’s skill and technicality.”
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