Good for Charles Barkely to ask this important question.
UPDATE: The Athletic confirmed Barkley’s question to Silver was “on the spot and not scripted” during the broadcast.
Before the season officially tipped off, Inside the NBA spoke with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Charles Barkley had an important question.
During the time that the team had with Silver before the Lakers played against the Nuggets in Denver, the former NBA big man asked Silver about one of the more troubling issues in the league.
Before they cut to a commercial break, Barkley asked Silver about domestic violence allegations against several active players in the league. Earlier this offseason, Silver had a concerning answer about why Hornets forward Miles Bridges got a shortened suspension for his domestic violence incident.
Charles Barkley confronts NBA commissioner Adam Silver after numerous offseason incidents of domestic violence among NBA athletes: pic.twitter.com/u0LjxLiLRd
“I got a serious question for you. There’s a couple disturbing incidents of domestic violence in the NBA right now. What are we doing to address that? … You can’t put your hands on women, man. … What are we, as a league, going to do about that?”
“That’s an area where we’re not looking to compete against other leagues. … Our players’ association, credit to them, this wasn’t adversarial. We put in place a new program for how we deal with, first of all, accusations of domestic violence even before they are prosecuted. Part of it goes to training of our players, counseling of our players to make sure they understand during high-stress situations, never resort to violence against anyone. We’re addressing. We have state of the art counseling professionals dealing with our players. But of course, if a guy does cross the line, the consequences are enormous.”
This answer likely didn’t go far enough to address this serious concern, nor does it align with recent suspensions and discplinary actions.
"If a guy does cross the line, the consequences are enormous" does not exactly match what the consequences have actually been. https://t.co/W8lr7DpUvh
The #Rockets have explored trades for Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Malcolm Brogdon in recent weeks, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reports.
For weeks, the Houston Rockets had wanted to move on from Kevin Porter Jr. in the wake of his September arrest in New York for an alleged assault and strangulation against his girlfriend.
On Tuesday, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone was able to get it done by including two second-round draft picks as part of a package landing Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl from Oklahoma City. The Thunder will immediately waive Porter.
Oladipo, however, is not ready to play basketball after suffering a torn patellar tendon during the 2023 NBA playoffs last April.
So while Oladipo’s expiring $9.5-million contract could replace most of Porter’s salary slot in future trades, the ideal scenario would be to have that salary slot filled by a player who could also help the Rockets win more games in the short-term. After all, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, “the Rockets expect to compete for the play-in tournament this spring (in the 2023-24 season).”
While Oladipo can’t be traded in combination with other players until 60 days after his acquisition by the Rockets, he could be traded immediately, if he’s the only outgoing player in the deal.
So, what might make sense for Stone and the Rockets in a deal involving Oladipo and future draft compensation? In his latest article, Fischer outlined three possibilities of at least some interest. All three are guards who play a somewhat similar role to Oladipo and the one Porter was expected to play prior to his September arrest.
The Rockets shouldn’t be rewarded for employing an alleged abuser
The Kevin Porter Jr. situation with the Rockets just ended exactly as we always knew it would. Yet, it all still feels so repugnant. Everyone involved should feel ashamed.
The Rockets traded Porter Jr. to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Victor Oladipo and a couple of future second-round picks that likely won’t matter much by the time they convey.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the story on Tuesday, adding that the Thunder are waiving Porter after the deal.
If you can’t tell, this entire transaction doesn’t sit right with me. At all. Both the Thunder and the Rockets should be ashamed of themselves. The NBA should, too, for allowing this to happen.
ESPN Sources: The Houston Rockets are trading G Kevin Porter Jr., and two future second-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder — who are waiving Porter Jr., immediately. Thunder are sending the Rockets Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl in the transaction. pic.twitter.com/PBaHA0f5lW
Regardless, Houston refused to lay in its bed. It still sought a trade partner for Porter Jr. We all knew that some team would eventually bite. And, of course, it was Oklahoma City coming to the rescue once again.
This isn’t surprising — Sam Presti’s specialty is taking on the rest of the NBA’s problems for draft capital. We all know how much Presti loves his picks, right? He’ll take them no matter the circumstance.
I’ve seen way too many people championing this as simply a good business move on the Rockets’ part.
I mean, sure, maybe in a vacuum it is. Houston has managed to improve its team by taking a player it couldn’t use and plugging in two new replacements. Forget about the reasons Houston barred Porter Jr. from playing, I guess. Regardless, the Rockets have two warm bodies to sit on the bench now.
On the Thunder’s end, all they had to do was waive Porter Jr. and eat a $16.5 million cost. Again, forget about why he’s reportedly being waived for a second. Oklahoma City just got two second-round picks out of this. Two! Do you know what those second-round picks could be? They could even be traded again. What a steal, right?
Unfortunately, this world isn’t a vacuum. We live here. There’s a human element in all of this that people — and these NBA teams — seem to fail to recognize.
Instead of saying “OK, we were wrong about this. We shouldn’t have done this,” and taking responsibility for knowingly employing an alleged abuser, the Rockets found a way to weasel themselves out of it. This team was essentially rewarded for taking a risk on a player it knew had a problem.
This isn’t just shrewd management at work — it’s a complete disregard for the human element within professional sports.
It’s clear that all Porter Jr. was to the Rockets was an asset. A financial cog in the machine that would, hopefully, be spun enough times to win the Rockets a championship. They ignored the fact that he is a real person who was also out there allegedly hurting other real people. That didn’t matter until now. And, because of Sam Presti, the team gets to walk off scott-free despite ignoring every sign that had always pointed to this inevitable end.
That is gross. But this is the NBA. It’s the Moneyball culture that has permeated the league so deeply that players have just become pieces on a board. Sure, it’s made for some better basketball over the years. But it’s also caused the league — and this sport — to lose a bit of the humanity that’s made it so fantastic over the years.
Kevin Porter Jr. is off the #Rockets after being traded to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Here’s our look at what the deal means.
In news first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets on Tuesday agreed to trade Kevin Porter Jr. and two second-round draft picks to Oklahoma City for veteran guard Victor Oladipo and young big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
Porter, who was recently arrested in New York for an alleged assault and strangulation against his girlfriend, will be immediately waived by the Thunder and appears unlikely to play in the NBA for the foreseeable future. For Oklahoma City, the trade’s incentive was solely the future second-round draft capital, which consists of a 2027 pick from Minnesota and a 2028 selection from Milwaukee.
For the Rockets, the primary incentive was maintaining something close to Porter’s salary figure ($15.9 million) to make matching math work in future trades. Oladipo will make $9.5 million this season.
Had the Rockets kept Porter on the roster beyond the 2023-24 preseason, he would have had $2 million more in guaranteed money owed for the 2024-25 season. Thus, the end of this preseason served as something of a deadline to general manager Rafael Stone, since other teams around the league would see Porter as even more of a negative asset if he had more guaranteed money attached to the acquisition.
Oladipo, who briefly played for the Rockets in early 2021, averaged 10.7 points (39.7% FG, 33.0% on 3-pointers), 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 26.3 minutes with Miami last season. Known best for his defense, Oladipo is 31 years old. He’s unavailable to play after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee during the 2023 playoffs, though he is expected to return later this season.
Robinson-Earl was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft. A 6-foot-9 forward, he averaged 6.8 points (44.4% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers) and 4.2 rebounds in 18.9 minutes last season.
The Thunder have acquired Kevin Porter Jr. – who they will waive – and two future second-round picks from the Rockets.
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Kevin Porter Jr. and two second-round picks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Thunder plan to immediately waive Porter Jr., who was not with the Rockets throughout training camp and preseason in the wake of his being charged with second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault.
In September, Porter Jr. was arrested for allegedly assaulting and strangling his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick. He recently rejected a plea deal related to the arrest.
A second-degree assault charge was dropped on Monday by prosecutors due to insufficient evidence. According to reports, Gondrezick has a congenital defect that was mistaken for a cracked neck vertebra.
Porter Jr. signed a four-year extension worth up to $82.5 million last year but the deal was only partially guaranteed due to previous off-court issues.
The Thunder will pay Porter Jr. the remaining $16.9 million guaranteed money left on his current deal. The two second-round picks they acquired are a 2027 second-round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves and a 2028 second-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks.
This move marks the end of Robinson-Earl’s and Oladipo’s tenures with the Thunder. The former is owed $1.9 million this season with a $2 million team option for next season. The latter is on an expiring $9.5 million contract. He continues to rehab from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in April.
With Robinson-Earl and Oladipo on the move, the Thunder’s regular-season roster gets clearer. This trade and subsequent release of Porter Jr. puts OKC’s roster at 19 players — 16 standard players and three two-way players.
The Thunder need to make one more decision to get down to an 18-man regular-season roster by the Oct. 25 season opener against the Chicago Bulls.
Kevin Porter Jr. rejected a plea deal from Manhattan prosecutors on the third-degree assault charge against him, the New York Post reports.
Kevin Porter Jr., who remains under contract with Houston despite team leadership stating he cannot be present with the Rockets, rejected a plea deal in connection with his September arrest in New York. Porter was arrested for allegedly assaulting and strangling his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick.
In a mandatory court appearance on Monday, Mirah Curzer — an assistant district attorney in Manhattan — said prosecutors were tossing out a charge of second-degree assault against Porter due to insufficient evidence. According to reports, Gondrezick has a congenital defect that was mistaken for a cracked neck vertebra.
However, Porter still faces charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault. The New York Post reports Porter would still face a maximum sentence of seven years behind bars, if convicted on the strangulation charge.
“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office offered a plea deal on the lower third-degree assault charge — with the condition Porter undergo counseling — but he rejected the offer, Curzer told the judge,” according to the New York Post report.
Porter is due back in court on Nov. 27 as the case progresses. It remains unclear if and/or when the Rockets will ultimately trade or waive Porter, but it appears he is no longer welcome with the team.
[lawrence-related id=116804,116584]
Don't let the headline fool you. While the most significant charge (second-degree assault) was dropped, KPJ is still being charged with second-degree strangulation & third-degree assault.
Rafael Stone on Kevin Porter Jr. “As soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets.”
At Monday’s media day to kick off 2023-24 Houston Rockets training camp, general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka took questions on Kevin Porter Jr’s recent arrest for the first time.
Though he remains under contract for at least this season, Porter did not report with the team to camp, and his future with the organization and the broader NBA is very much in question. A league investigation is ongoing, as are the related criminal proceedings in New York, where Porter is due back in a Manhattan court on Oct. 16.
“The allegations against him are deeply troubling,” Stone said. “Going back a few weeks, as soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets. He has not been with the team or around the team since that time.”
Here’s a roundup of what we learned from Monday’s media day at Toyota Center. With Porter absent, training camp will begin Tuesday at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Days after Kevin Porter Jr.’s arrest for an alleged assault, an attorney for Kysre Gondrezick says reports of her fractured vertabra are inaccurate.
An attorney for Kysre Gondrezick, the longtime girlfriend of Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. who was allegedly assaulted and strangled on Monday in New York, said reports of her fractured neck vertabra are inaccurate.
A former WNBA player, Gondrezick has a congenital defect that was mistaken for a cracked vertebra, Fox News Digital reported, citing a source and information reviewed by the outlet.
“This was a condition she was born with that had little effect on her and was not a result of fresh trauma,” said forensic pathologist Michael Baden, who reviewed the information, according to Fox.
Based on this apparent detail, Porter’s legal team is now asking the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to drop the second-degree assault charges, according to the New York Post. Even if dropped, Porter would still face second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault charges, the New York Post reports.
Gondrezick’s representation already disputed other elements of the criminal complaint revealed earlier this week by prosecutors.
Porter appeared before a Manhattan judge on Tuesday, where he entered a not-guilty plea. Next up for Porter’s case is a court date set for Oct. 16, 2023, where his attendance is mandatory.
“The NBA and the Houston Rockets have a choice here — condone or condemn,” the president of the National Organization for Women (@NationalNOW) says.
In the aftermath of felony assault and strangulation charges being filed against Houston Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. in New York, the national president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) issued a statement about the alleged incident between Porter and longtime girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick.
“The NBA and the Houston Rockets have a choice here — condone or condemn,” said Christian F. Nunes, a licensed mental health professional who works with domestic violence survivors.
“Does the NBA simply allow a trade and, in turn, permit this type of behavior? Or will the NBA stand against domestic violence and hold players accountable? Kysre Gondrezick was hospitalized with brutal injuries,” the statement reads. “This shouldn’t be a conversation about which team takes Kevin Porter. It should be about how he is no longer part of the league for a felony domestic violence arrest.”
Founded in 1966, NOW is a membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all social, political and economic aspects.
Citing access to the criminal complaint, news reports this week have suggested Porter punched Gondrezick in the face multiple times and put his hands around her neck, causing her to suffer a fractured vertebra. However, a statement from Gondrezick’s attorney has called some of that reporting into question.
Porter appeared before a Manhattan judge on Tuesday, when he entered a not-guilty plea. Next up is for Porter’s case is a court date set for Oct. 16, 2023, where his attendance is mandatory.
According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, his future in Houston and in the league is “very much in peril” following what NBA commissioner Adam Silver called “horrific” allegations.
Porter is entitled to due process and a thorough investigation before his punishment is eventually determined. Per league rules, in fact, the Rockets aren’t allowed to discipline Porter until the league is able to conclude its investigation.
Shams Charania, meanwhile, reported for The Athletic that Porter is not expected to attend training camp with the Rockets in October.
Charania did, however, add that the front office is “working to trade” the 23-year-old guard. But fans have to wonder why, once allowed, the team doesn’t just waive him altogether.
The reason — as you might guess — could come back to money, a choice that is deeply unsettling (via The Athletic): The Rockets could use the salary they would get back in a trade to then help get another player to help the roster now.
Perhaps the organization believed in his rehabilitation, but it was a curious decision to have Porter on the roster in any capacity heading into this upcoming season.
Even before his latest arrest, multiple former players from the Rockets expressed concerns about the direction of the franchise — specifically mentioning Porter.
The plan was always for this team to have a massive overhaul for the upcoming season. But after moving on from head coach Stephen Silas, the Rockets hired Ime Udoka (who came with his own controversies after his season-long suspension by the Celtics, but that’s a different conversation).
According to a recent report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, one of the goals for Udoka was to “set a new culture” in Houston. It was clear that this franchise hit the reset button and their roster moves reflected as much.
Houston, meanwhile, moved on from young talents like TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher and Kenyon Martin Jr. this past offseason.
Yet for some reason, despite off-court issues, Porter remained rostered.
Recall that this week was not the first troubling controversy involving Porter, who left the Toyota Center during a game after a heated argument with Rockets assistant coach John Lucas in January 2022. Gondrezick, who is the alleged victim of this alleged attack, is also Lucas’s goddaughter.
He was arrested in November 2020 for improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle along with failure to control and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Earlier that year, Porter was accused of punching a woman in downtown Cleveland, though he wasn’t charged.
Additionally, during his time in college, Porter was suspended indefinitely for an “unspecified conduct issue” while at USC.
They had red flag after red flag. Although it is perhaps the most troubling, the latest alleged incident simply does not represent the second or third chance for Porter. So again we must ask, if the Rockets wanted to reset their culture this summer, why was he retained at all this offseason?
Again, it’s money. More likely than not, the Rockets structured his contract with non-guaranteed money so that he could eventually become an ideal trade piece.
Based on his deal, if Houston attached draft capital, they can return nearly $21 million in contracts that they can use as win-now help or salary-cap filler in future trades. The other team would receive picks and then cut Porter without having to pay much of his remaining money.
Doesn’t that feel wrong? Now that matters have reached their worst moment yet, they want to ship him off and get something back in return. That is not how this should work.
Once the investigation is over and if the evidence is conclusive, the Rockets need to cut Porter and make it clear that there is no room for this type of behavior in this league or in our society.
Dangling his name in trade rumors and trying to make a transaction here to return value is so, so gross and sends the wrong message. They had so many chances to move on from Porter before this got as ugly as it did and now that it has reached its apex, they don’t deserve to receive any assets in return.
They ignored all of the signs that trouble was looming with Porter and now they have to reap what they have sown by moving on empty-handed if he is indeed guilty.
The Aces are Acein’ again
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Aces finally look like themselves again right in time for the playoffs, Mike Sykes writes.
For the majority of the season, the Aces have looked absolutely unstoppable. Vegas started the season 19-2 heading into the league’s All-Star break in July, which is absolutely unheard of. The Aces finished the season at 34-6, which means the team went 15-4 the rest of the way.
That’s still really good, but it just wasn’t the same team we knew. Part of that was losing Candace Parker. Another part was running into the Liberty over and over again. Regardless, Vegas wasn’t the same.
But the Aces sure did look good in their 87-59 win in Game 1 against Chicago.
Vegas became the only team in WNBA history to finish with eight or fewer turnovers and fouls in a playoff game, per Across the Timeline. That attention to detail there is what a champion looks like.
It’s good to see the Aces have that vibe back — at least, for now.
Can Jalen Hurts bounce back?
Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
As an Eagles fan, I am not yet worried about Jalen Hurts, Mike Sykes writes.
The Birds’ 25-20 win against the Patriots on Sunday was a weird one mostly because he looked off. The deep ball just wasn’t there.
“Hurts went 0-fer on those same throws against New England, failing to complete any of his six such pass attempts. One of those plays could have been a long completion to A.J. Brown had the receiver not momentarily bobbled the ball near the sideline, but that was a second-reaction play that saw Hurts first pass up the opportunity to take a one-on-one shot to DeVonta Smith on the opposite side; and Hurts otherwise went 0-for-5 on deep passes.”
I don’t think there’s a need for panic yet. The circumstances were ripe for this to happen. It was only one week on the road in a rainy game against the best coach in NFL history. Remember, Hurts also hadn’t played in the preseason. There were bound to be mistakes as there were with many quarterbacks in Week 1.
If Hurts can’t get things right against Minnesota on Thursday night, though, we might be talking about the start of a trend here. And that’s when things might start to get concerning.
We’ll see how this shakes out.
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