Undrafted Rookie Craig Porter Jr has made an impact. After scoring 14 points in 16 minutes against Detroit, the young point guard earned more minutes this week. The Cavs have a huge slate of games against big time opponents and they were missing key players on Sunday Evening. Then, CPJ stepped up and said, ‘No problem.’
Sunday Fun-day
The story that every fan was expecting was the Nuggets would roll into town and dominate the short-handed Cavs. That was not the case Sunday Night. Darius Garland and CPJ worked the pick ‘n roll actions to perfection and moved the ball effectively all night to upset the reigning Champs 121-109. This undrafted rookie seems to have the goods.
The undrafted rookie story is not a new story to the NBA. The Draft is not an exact science therefore, a lot of talented players drop through the cracks. Also, one trait that all undrafted players possess is a tireless work ethic to show everyone they have what it takes. Ben Wallace was one of those undrafted tireless workers and now he has made it into the Hall of Fame. Porter Jr has shown to have that work ethic so far. Also, CPJ reminds me of another undrafted Wichita State Point Guard, Fred VanVleet. Let’s hope as Cavs fans that CPJ could be a future All-Star and NBA Champ (maybe Hall of Fame??).
What Now for the undrafted rookie?
There comes a time where a rookie hits the ‘rookie wall’ or goes through a tough stretch in the long NBA season. Porter Jr is still on a 2-Way Contract meaning if he is really struggling they could send him to the G-League to get some playing time there. How would he handle that? Would a tough stretch hurt CPJ’s confidence? Would he be able to bounce back? And how quickly? Luckily, we are not at that stage of this young undrafted rookie’s career. So for now, Cavs Nation is thankful and we hope he can keep it up for as long as possible.
