Kevin Porter Jr. apologetic upon rejoining Rockets from suspension

Third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. apologized to his teammates and coaches on the Rockets upon rejoining the team after his suspension, Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen reported Tuesday.

Porter was suspended for Monday’s game at Philadelphia, but he is expected to be back in the lineup on Wednesday night in Washington as the young, rebuilding squad hopes to snap an eight-game losing skid.

In comments from Tuesday’s practice, Porter said (via Feigen):

I apologized. I did it to the group. I did it individually. I think just as a man and as a human, that’s the right thing to do. Even if you feel like you’re in the right, there’s ways to approach things in situations, and I felt as a man, I didn’t approach it the right way. So I apologize. I feel like that’s just something you need to do, as a principled thing.

Video of Porter’s media session is not available, since his comments were made after the team’s practice — which is not conducted on Zoom. The full interview can be read in Feigen’s Houston Chronicle story.

Now 21 years old, Porter is averaging 12.8 points, 5.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 29.8 minutes during the 2021-22 campaign.

Head coach Stephen Silas said Monday that he wants the latest situation with Porter to be a “bump in the road” and not a defining moment.

“We will still love him and grow with him, and everything will be OK,” Silas said. “For this to be blown out of proportion, and it should not be …  it should be a bump in the road, and we continue. If you really love somebody, you don’t take one instance and say, ‘That’s it.’ You love them, and when stuff like this happens, you love them even more.”

Tipoff between the Rockets (10-28) and Wizards (19-18) is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday night in Washington.