ATLANTA – In 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks drafted Kevin Porter Jr. at No. 30 out of USC, only to immediately trade him, along with Tony Snell, to the Detroit Pistons for Jon Leuer.
In 2022, the Bucks picked MarJon Beauchamp No. 24 off the G League Ignite, but they elected to not pick up his fourth-year option for next season.
The Journal Sentinel confirmed the Bucks reacquired the 6-foot, 4-inch Porter by sending Beauchamp to the Los Angeles Clippers in a swap of 24-year-olds.
Beauchamp played for three different coaches in his three seasons in Milwaukee, with the bulk of his playing time coming when other forwards were injured. He played 26 games this season and 126 overall in his three seasons. He shot 35.3% from behind the three-point line while averaging 4.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in his Bucks career.
ESPN was the first to report the deal.
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Porter is making $2.2 million this season but also holds a $2.5 million player option for next season. Beauchamp was going to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
After being traded by Milwaukee to Detroit, Porter never played for the Pistons as he was traded days later to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he averaged 10 points per game in 50 appearances.
Per ESPN, Porter was arrested Nov. 15, 2020, after police found a loaded gun in his car, which he rolled in an accident. He was charged with improper handling of a firearm, marijuana possession and driving without a license but all were dismissed just over a month later.Porter was away from the Cavaliers during that time, and upon his return in mid-January, he discovered that the team moved his locker to house Taurean Prince – now a Bucks player – and The Athletic and ESPN reported that Porter got into a screaming match with team employees over the perceived slight.
After that incident, the Cavaliers immediately traded Porter to the Houston Rockets.During the 2020-21 season, he was fined for violating the league’s health and safety protocols while the league still had coronavirus restrictions in place, and he got into a verbal altercation with Rockets assistant John Lucas and left a game at halftime, resulting in a team-issued suspension. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to score 50 points and have 10 assists, in a game against the Bucks.
In 26 games that season, Porter averaged 16.6 points and 6.3 assists per game. That promise led the Rockets to sign him to four-year, partially guaranteed extension that could have reached $82.5 million in October 2022.Porter’s three-point shooting gradually improved, and he averaged 17.3 points per game on 37.1% three-point shooting in two seasons from 2021-23.
In September 2023, Porter was arrested and charged with assault and strangulation against his girlfriend. Once the NBA season began, the Rockets barred Porter from joining the team.On Jan. 23, 2024, Porter reached a deal by pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault along with a harassment violation. According to the Associated Press, part of that deal required Porter to “complete a 26-week Abusive Partner Intervention Program or an equivalent program with a private counselor” while abiding by a limited order of protection. He also must attend all court dates and have no further arrests. If all of that was completed by this year, the AP reported Porter “will be sentenced at that time to time served for the non-criminal harassment count, prosecutors said, effectively clearing his criminal record.”
Houston traded Porter to Oklahoma City in 2023 in a salary-cap transaction, and he was immediately waived by the Thunder.
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Porter was out of the league for the 2023-24 season and played in Greece with PAOK Thessaloniki.
The Clippers signed him this summer and, in 45 games (43 off the bench), his shooting slumped (24.5% from behind the three-point line) in averaging 9.3 points in about 20 minutes per game.
