Atlanta Hawks: Kevin Porter Jr. is a Player to Target
Now that the Atlanta Hawks have acquired a third first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Kevin Porter Jr. Is a player that the team should take a hard look at. He fits the mold of what general manager Travis Schlenk is looking for.
The Atlanta Hawks are how armed with three picks in the top 20. This comes after trading starting small forward Taurean Prince and a second round pick, to the Brooklyn Nets for guard Allen Crabbe, pick 17 in this year’s draft and a future first round pick. Details of the deal can be found by clicking here. Now that the Hawks have picks eight, ten and seventeen in round one, it opens up more players for the Atlanta Hawks to strongly consider drafting. Should the Atlanta Hawks keep all three picks, a big man is certain to be targeted with one of those picks. The other picks are likely to be either a versatile wings, combo forwards, or one of each. Concerning versatile wing players, Kevin Porter Jr. certainly fits that bill.
Kevin Porter Jr. is a wing player from the University of Southern California. He stands a shade under 6’6 and weighs in at 213 pounds. He just recently turned 19 years old and was ranked as the number 27 player in the 2018 college recruiting class, according to 247sports.com. That was one spot ahead of UNC guard Coby White, who expected to be a top ten pick this year. Porter did not have the season that he hoped for at USC. He played in 21 games and started only four, averaging just 9.5 points, 4 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Porter Jr. dealt with a leg injury for a major part of the season, but he was also suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Ron Goldberg of Bleacher Report goes into more details of Kevin Porter Jr.’s troubles in this article. Following the generally unproductive season, Porter declared for the NBA Draft.
Frankie Vision put together this full highlight reel of Porter Jr’s freshman season on their YouTube channel: