Update, Sept. 13, 2023 at 9:16 PM:
The Houston Rockets are working to trade guard Kevin Porter Jr. after he was arrested for allegedly strangling his girlfriend in a Manhattan hotel room early Monday.
Porter was charged with felony assault and strangulation of his girlfriend Kysre Gondrezic, NBA sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Those sources say the Rockets have contacted multiple teams offering draft compensation as incentive to receive Porter, who has the 2023-24 season slated for $15.9 million in Year 1 of a four-year, $82.5 million deal, with three non-guaranteed years.
Gondrezick locked Porter out of their hotel room but he was let in by security. An argument escalated to violence and security called police.
Gondrezick suffered a broken vertebra in her neck and a gash over one eye during the altercation.
Porter pleaded not guilty to assault charges during his arraignment on Tuesday. He was released on $75,000 bail and is due back in court in Manhattan on Oct. 16.
Robert Hantman, an attorney for Gondrezick, told The NY Post exclusively: “Ms. Gondrezick wants to express her deep appreciation for the public’s support and prayers. In regards to our client, much that has been written in the press attributing statements to her are misleading and inaccurate. She has not granted nor released any statements on her own volition.”
“This is a serious domestic violence case,” assistant Manhattan district attorney Mirah Curzer told the judge.
Curzer said Porter has a history of abusing Gondrezick, including an incident in which he allegedly rammed his car into hers.
Porter’s off-the-court issues date back to his days as a basketball star at USC in 2019.
Porter, pictured with his mom and brother, was suspended for unknown “conduct issues” at USC. He was chosen by Cleveland in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he lasted one year with the Cavaliers before he was traded to Houston.
He was accused of punching a woman in the face and ripping off her weave in downtown Cleveland, according to police reports.
A few months later, he was involved in a one-car crash and charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to control a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana. The charges were eventually dismissed, according to the L.A. Times.
In April 2021, the NBA fined Porter $50,000 for violating the league’s COVID-19 health and safety rules by visiting a Miami strip club. He and teammate Sterling Brown got into an altercation with other men in the parking lot.
“We are aware of the reports regarding Kevin Porter Jr.,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told the Associated Press. “The league office is in contact with the Houston Rockets and in the process of gathering more information.”
1 year anniversary ?? @Kevinporterjr pic.twitter.com/tjroW85hYb
— Kysre Gondrezick (@KysreRae) February 23, 2023
Porter, 23, and Gondrezick, 26, are pictured attending a NY Fashion Week event on Sept. 7.
Gondrezick’s sister claims the Houston Rockets star is hiding in the closet.
Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins, who was married to the late NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., shared a screenshot of Porter’s phone number which was saved in her phone as “Kevin “Down Low” Porter Jr.”
Haskins was hit by a dump truck while attempting to cross Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 9, 2022.
Kalabrya recently settled a lawsuit with the dump truck driver and the owner of the dump truck for an undisclosed sum.
In a now-deleted post, Kalabrya warned Porter to “count his days.”
Porter signed a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension with the Rockets in 2022.
He is not expected to attend Rockets’ training camp in early October, NBA sources tell The Atlantic.
Gondrezick is a free agent who previously played for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky.
