Cavs reportedly to trade or cut Kevin Porter Jr.; should Celtics inquire?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly looking to trade young shooting guard and small forward prospect Kevin Porter Jr. after a post-James Harden trade locker room incident caused the team to sour on the promising young player.

Should the Boston Celtics do their due diligence on a potential trade?

To be clear, there is a very defensible reason the team is considering a move as drastic as cutting the University of Southern California product. Evidently after the team took on former Brooklyn Nets power forward Taurean Prince as part of the four-team James Harden trade, Porter became angry upon seeing his locker had been given to Prince.

His locker had been moved to where the team's younger players are grouped, per The Athletic's Jason Lloyd, Joe Vardon and staff, which seems to have triggered the aggressive response from the player. At one point, the altercation was so bad the second-year player was reportedly throwing food -- and time has not healed wounds after the Friday incident. Porter has not played with the team, having been away for undisclosed personal reasons. His absence appears related to the November incident in which the player was arrested for possession of marijuana and firearms after a one-car accident. The charges stemming from the incident have been dismissed. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1349785346972680192?s=20

These are not minor red flags, to say the least -- though more clarity regarding the nature of the Seattle native's absence might cast the situation in a more favorable light. It appears the team had been working with Porter to eliminate this sort of behavior before it derails his career, but seems to have hit a breaking point in that effort. But is there more to the story? Boston would have to weigh that behavior against the 10 points, 3.2 boards and 2.2 assists per game the Washingtonian put up in his rookie season, shooting 44.2% overall and 33.5% from deep at a position of need. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1350577901465436162?s=20

On one hand, his contract is a bargain at just over $2 million, and the veteran voices on the Celtics, including former teammate Tristan Thompson, might be the sort of players to help guide the young talent toward a more professional footing. On the other hand, these issues could be serious enough to scare off front offices in much worse shape than the Celtics given the importance of chemistry to this locker room and the team's success. While intriguing, given where Boston is now and the sort of cohesion it is trying to deepen as a team philosophy, we don't expect Danny Ainge and company to bite. [jwplayer sleHbrCL-z6KDnl0B] [lawrence-related id=45627,45609,45602,45592] [listicle id=45625]