Report: Cavs plan to ‘challenge’ Craig Porter Jr., want more ‘fire’ from him

With the way the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rotation came together this season, it was easy to overlook guard Craig Porter Jr., who saw his role decrease slightly compared to that of his rookie campaign.

He averaged fewer points, assists, rebounds and minutes per game in the 2024-25 regular season and started just one of Cleveland’s 82 games. For the second time in two seasons, he appeared in exactly 51 contests (playoffs excluded).

However, an opportunity may open up for Porter to have a more significant role with the Cavaliers next season. After all, it’s undetermined as to whether guard Ty Jerome will re-sign with the team this summer. Jerome played the best basketball of his career with the Cavaliers this season but wasn’t at his best against the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The Cavaliers lost that series in five games.

With Jerome’s future unclear, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com has reported that the Cavaliers plan to “challenge” Porter, adding that they want to see more “fire” out of the youngster.

“The opportunity is there: The Cavs plan to challenge Craig Porter Jr,” Pluto wrote. “The point guard is heading into his third NBA season. While most of the discussion about Porter is about improving his 3-point shooting, the Cavs see other key areas that need an upgrade. They want him to be more assertive. His work ethic is fine, but it needs to be better than OK. Porter and several other Cavs will be challenged to play with the kind of physical pace and mental strength that Indiana and OKC have exhibited this season. Porter has ballhandling skills. He has good poise. But he needs to show he can lead an offense and be in elite physical condition. Bottom line: They want more fire from the 25-year-old.

“As for Ty Jerome: The Cavs don’t know if he’ll be back. Jerome is a free agent. The Indiana series exposed Jerome’s lack of speed and problems handling the ball against full-court pressure. Nonetheless, he was one of the NBA’s most productive players coming off the bench and that could lead to a lucrative contract from another team. That’s part of the reason the Cavs plan to push Porter harder than in the past.”

Porter probably didn’t hear his name called by head coach Kenny Atkinson as much as he would have liked to this season, but he did receive extended playing time at the end of the regular season, when the Cavaliers had the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference locked up and little to play for.

Atkinson had Porter play 20-plus minutes in each of Cleveland’s final three games in the regular season, and in that small sample size, Porter reminded people of his impressive offensive skill set. He totaled 47 points and nine assists across those three games and saved his best performance in that span for Cleveland’s regular-season finale.

Against the Pacers on April 13, Porter went off for a season-high 20 points while shooting 4-of-9 from 3-point range. He also racked up five assists, five rebounds and a pair of blocks in a game Cleveland lost in double overtime.

Whether or not Porter will be a significant contributor for the Cavaliers next season could ultimately hinge on Jerome’s future, but either way, it sounds like Cleveland is ready to push the 25-year-old to new heights.