Porter and Wood traveled to Philadelphia with the Rockets on Sunday. However, coach Stephen Silas decided to not play both players after two episodes that involved the two players. Sources said.
Sources said that neither Porter nor Wood participated in the Rockets’ second-half loss to the Nuggets. Porter left the arena following a confrontation with John Lucas, the assistant coach, after which Porter was seen leaving.
Porter is well-known for his anger management issues, which the team believes he has improved on. However, those issues surfaced again Saturday, and eventually drove him to leave the arena rather than rejoin the team for the second part of the match. Sources said that Porter was not alone in this.
Wood was placed on the bench to begin Saturday’s match and seemed to be unhappy about Silas’ punishment for not showing up for COVID-19 testing every day. This caused the shootaround to be delayed according to sources.
Sources said that Wood later showed little interest in checking into Saturday’s game, when Silas called him upon him. Silas quickly moved onto other players.
Sources say Porter was angry at Lucas for challenging him at the half. This brought back an issue that caused the guard to lose his composure on a bench during the first period, according to sources.
Silas described the halftime confrontation between Wood and Lucas as a “spirited discussion” without providing any details. Sources say Wood was challenged by at least one of his younger teammates. He said that Wood should set a standard as a veteran.
Wood, the Rockets’ top rebounder and scorer, was held scoreless for eight minutes in the first period. Houston was outscored 17 times when he was on court.
Silas replied, “Coach’s decision,” when Silas was asked about Wood’s inability to play in the second-half.
After Porter was inactive for the start of the 2020-21 season, the Rockets traded Porter to Cleveland Cavaliers for a top 55-protected second round pick.
Porter, the No. 30, was either traded or released by the Cavaliers. After Porter exploded at team officials about them moving his locker into an auxiliary area, the Cavaliers decided to trade or release him. Taurean Prince had been brought in by Jarrett Allen to play in the James Harden trade. His locker was given by Cavaliers to Prince. Porter arrived at the arena to watch the opening game of the season, and he discovered that his locker had been moved.
Houston sent Porter to its G League affiliate in an effort to make his transition to the Rockets easier. He was moved from wing to point-guard. Porter, 21 years old, has enjoyed some success in Houston. He averaged 15.0 points per game and 6.1 assists over the past two seasons. Despite Saturday’s missteps, the franchise remains optimistic about Porter’s development and growth. They believe he is committed to making the necessary improvements.
