Kevin Porter Jr. is reportedly returning to the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers months after reaching a plea deal in a domestic assault case.
According to The Athletic’s Shams CharaniaPorter agreed to a two-year contract with the Clippers at the start of NBA free agency negotiations on Sunday. Porter, a first-round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2019 Draft, played two seasons with the Houston Rockets after his rookie campaign in Cleveland.
Porter did not play last season after arrest for domestic assault
Porter, 24, was arrested on felony domestic battery charges last summer for an alleged incident involving his girlfriend. The Rockets then traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who immediately waived him. Porter, once a promising member of Houston’s young core, did not play in the NBA last season.
Porter avoided jail with a plea deal
Porter pleaded guilty in January to misdemeanor assault and harassment in a deal that kept him out of jail if he complied with the terms of the deal. Prosecutors had accused Porter of leaving his girlfriend bloodied and with a deep cut on her face. Police said Porter repeatedly punched her in the face while the couple was staying at the Millennium Hotel in Manhattan.
According to police, she had locked him out of the room after he returned late, and Porter assaulted her once he gained access to the room. Police said Porter also repeatedly punched her in the body and put his hands around her neck.
Bride denied police account
Porter’s girlfriend later denied that the assault had occurred and called the police version a “lie.” She told TMZ that her injuries were a result of hitting her head when she was startled awake by Porter’s late arrival at the hotel room.
“He didn’t hit me. She never closed her fists and hit me,” Gondrezick told the New York Post. “And he definitely didn’t punch me in the face several times. That’s a lie. “I don’t have any injuries to back it up.”
Under the agreement, Porter must complete a 26-week Abusive Partner Intervention Program or equivalent program with a private counselor. He must attend all court dates and avoid further arrests.
He recently played basketball in Greece and is back in the NBA after a one-year hiatus.
Porter, a 6-4 guard, averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, four rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 44.2% from the floor and 36.6% from 3-point range in 2022-23, his final season with the Rockets. He joins a Clippers team that re-signed James Harden in free agency and is awaiting a decision from All-Star free agent Paul George.
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