The Houston Rockets are reportedly including Kevin Porter Jr. in a trade one day after a serious charge against him was dropped by prosecutors, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday (October 17).
"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," Wojnarowski wrote on his X account.
On Monday (October 16), prosecutors dropped one of the assault charges against Porter, 23, during a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court, acknowledging that he didn't fracture one of his girlfriend's neck vertebrae during an incident at a hotel last month due to "insufficient evidence," Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer told the New York Post.
"What initially appeared to be a fractured vertebrae was not in fact an injury caused by the defendant," Curzer said.
Porter was charged with felony assault and strangulation in relation to an incident involving his girlfriend, WNBA free agent Kysre Gondrezick, 26, at Millennium Hotel in Times Square on September 11, which reportedly resulted in a fractured neck vertebra and cut above her right eye.
General manager Rafael Stone had previously told reporters that Porter was barred from the team amid his recent domestic violence arrest during the Rockets' Media Day session on October 2.
“The allegations against him are deeply troubling,” Stone said via the Associated Press. “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. They understood and he has not been with the team or around the team or had any interaction with the team since that time and will not be at media day today or in training camp.”
Stone said all additional details about Porter's situation would fall under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and, therefore, would be handled by the league office.
“What’s left for the team to do is to evaluate the best steps for our organization that remain in compliance with the league domestic violence policy,” Stone said via the AP.
Porter was ordered to post $75,000 cash or obtain a $100,000 bond to be released and must stay away from Gondrezick. The 26-year-old was reported to have been upset with Porter -- who entered their locked room with the help of hotel security -- for returning at a late hour, which escalated into a physical altercation, according to the source.
Gondrezick played for Michigan and West Virginia during her collegiate career prior to one WNBA season with the Indiana Fever in 2021. Porter was previously charged with improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle following a single-car crash in Mahoning County, Ohio on November 2020.
The 23-year-old was inactive for the beginning of his second NBA season due to the charge, which was later dropped, along with misdemeanor charges of driving without a license. Porter averaged a career-best 19.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game during the 2022-23 season, his third with the Rockets.
The former USC standout was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round of the 2019 NBA Draft at No. 30 overall before being traded to Houston in January 2021 due to a reported outburst in the locker room that stemmed from the Cavaliers acquiring Taurean Prince in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
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