Cavaliers attended Michael Porter Jr.’s pro day in Chicago

Michael Porter, who entered this year’s NCAA season considered in some circles as a potential number one pick, has seen his stock fall heading into the NBA Draft, which is suddenly just 10 days away.

A back injury that robbed him of most of his freshman season that culminated in a brutally inefficient comeback at the end of the year has caused his stock to slip, which means he’s in play for the Cleveland Cavaliers with the number eight pick in the draft.

According to Cleveland.com, the Cavs had a representative at Porter’s pro day in Chicago on Friday:

At least one member of the Cavaliers’ front office attended Michael Porter Jr.’s pro day workout in Chicago on Friday, a league source told cleveland.com.

The workout took place on the same day the Cavs lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors and were swept out of the series.

Assistant general manager Mike Gansey has been overseeing most of the organization’s draft prep while the team battled its way through the playoffs.

It’s obviously a tough turnaround for a franchise that was playing in the NBA Finals to also worry about draft contingencies, but that’s why these guys get paid the money they do.

There’s certainly a possibility that the Cavaliers don’t make this pick at all — if they want to get additional superstar help for LeBron James, it’s almost certain that they’ll have to flip the pick. If James doesn’t appear to be sticking around in free agency, the team will want a player that they think could have star potential to help bridge the gap.

Porter’s stock may have slipped, and there are holes in his game, especially as a ball handler and defender, but there’s a reason he was so highly regarded coming out of high school.

The Cavaliers would likely be thrilled if he dropped to them at eight. We’ll see if it comes to that.