Kevin Porter Jr. reaches plea deal in assault case

Former Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. reached a plea deal Tuesday in his New York assault case involving former girlfriend and WNBA guard Kysre Gondrezick.

Porter, 23, pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to charges of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree.

According to his attorneys, he will be able to withdraw the plea following the completion of a 26-week counseling program.

Porter was arrested at a New York City hotel on Sept. 11 after police initially said he fractured one of Gondrezick's neck vertebrae in an alleged attack. Prosecutors later dropped one of his assault charges after finding insufficient evidence that Porter injured her neck.

Gondrezick told the New York Post in October that Porter "didn't hit me."

"The resolution will allow Mr. Porter to put this incident, which involved false felony allegations and false facts, behind him with no criminal record and move forward," Porter's lawyers said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Rockets traded Porter to Oklahoma City on Oct. 17 and the Thunder waived him the next day.

Porter averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 59 games (all starts) for the Rockets in 2022-23.

The 2019 first-round draft pick has career averages of 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 196 games (146 starts) with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2019-20) and Rockets.