Kevin Porter

Porter advertised some intriguing upside during his 26-game 2020-21 sophomore season with the Rockets, where he notably produced a 50-point, 11-assist game against the Bucks. Last year, Porter didn't quite reach the heights that optimists were hoping for, but he still cracked the top 100 in per-game fantasy production (rank 96). Sharing the backcourt with No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green, Porter struggled early on. For the first three months of the season (21 appearances), he averaged 13.0 points on abysmal 36/32/63 shooting splits. However, the sophomore guard picked things up after the new year. In his final 40 appearances, he averaged 16.9 points on 44/40/65 shooting, 6.3 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 31.6 minutes. The 22-year-old should continue developing this season, but he'll need to keep sharing the ball with Green as well as No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith and new starting center Alperen Sengun - an excellent passer for the position. Porter's usage may not increase, so interested fantasy managers will have to bank on improved efficiency when projecting his 2022-23 campaign. As it stands, he's a mid-to-late-round flier.

Porter was shipped to Houston last January for a second-round pick. The Rockets had Porter play 15 G League games, where he dominated, before joining the parent club. Porter appeared in 26 games (23 starts) with the Rockets, averaging 16.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds. His shooting splits (43/31/73) left something to be desired, but he hasn't even reached 82 NBA games played yet. Most notably, Porter produced a 50-point, 11-assist game against the Bucks in late April. Based on that alone, there's plenty of reason to believe in Porter's upside. The 21-year-old is one of the focal points of Houston's rebuild along with rookies Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, plus Christian Wood. With the news that John Wall won't play for the Rockets this season, Porter is firmly established as the team's starting point guard. Notably, he averaged 19.9 points and 8.0 assists per 36 minutes last season with Wall and James Harden off the court. On one hand, expecting that out of Porter seems extremely optimistic. On the other hand, another year of development and organizational commitment means Porter is certainly in position for a breakout season.

In his first NBA season, Porter appeared in 50 games for Cleveland to little fanfare. The first-rounder out of USC averaged 10.0 points, 3.2 boards, 2.2 assists and 1.1 threes across 23.2 minutes per contest, while shooting respectably from the field (44.2 percent) and three (33.5 percent). He struggled with free-throw attempts, shooting just 72.3 percent from the charity stripe. He wasn't given too much run in 2019-20, but when he excelled when given an increased workload. In 18 games where he saw at least 25 minutes of action, Porter's production increased to 15.1 points, 3.8 boards, 3.4 assists, 1.9 triples and 1.1 steals. His shooting was improved in these contests as well. Cleveland projects to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference yet again in 2020-21, and the team would do well to see what Porter can do given an expanded role for the entire season. He'll compete with Cedi Osman and rookie Isaac Okoro for minutes at small forward, but we've maybe seen the best of Osman already, which is only marginally better than first-year Porter. If he can win a starting job this season, Porter has the potential to be a meaningful player for fantasy managers. Until that happens, he should only be drafted in deep leagues.

In terms of pure talent, Porter ranks among the top guards in the 2019 Draft, but he had an up-and-down freshman season at USC that was marred by off-court issues and a suspension. However, Porter will likely be given a fair chance to develop for the rebuilding Cavs. During 13 college appearances in which Porter saw at least 24 minutes, he averaged 11.8 points on 9.2 shots, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals. A hip injury prevented him from participating in summer league, but he's expected to be ready for training camp. At 6-foot-6, 218 pounds, Porter should be able to secure minutes at shooting guard and small forward, though he'll have to beat out the likes of Brandon Knight, Jordan Clarkson and Dylan Windler for consistent run off the bench. While Porter probably won't return standard fantasy league value, there's room for him to be drafted with the final selection of a deep league, with a dynasty league pickup being the best option.