E3: Players or Props?

Here's Porter launching a deep three at the end of the clock.

Conchar saves.

It's 2021, Jontay Porter's first year with the Memphis Grizzlies.

And from the start, life in the NBA is a struggle.

As far as the basketball career is concerned, I think things are not going the way he wanted them to.

This is Anthony Milton, the Toronto journalist who profiled Jonte through this time.

His knees were

still giving him problems.

And in the 2021-22 season with the Grizzlies, he barely played, just showed up on the court 11 times.

and they dropped him early.

At first, Jante clung to a spot in the NBA.

The Detroit Pistons have signed Jante Porter to an Exhibit 10 deal.

He signed with the Detroit Pistons in October 2023, but was waived again just a month later.

Demoted before the regular season even started.

Quite literally, the second he gets on his feet, his knees collapse from under him, and he just can't perform.

He was sent down to Detroit's developmental squad, the Motor City Crews, in the NBA's minor league, a.k.a. the G

League.

It's got to be intensely frustrating.

Jonte bounced around, trying to get back into the NBA, when an opportunity emerged in Toronto.

In 2023, he signed a two-way contract to play with the Raptors and their G League team, the Raptors 905.

So this was a chance for him to get his life back on track.

And when the Raptors lost Ron Harper Jr. to injury and needed to replace him, a spot opened for Jonte, and in he came.

So you've been getting some run in the past couple of games now.

Just give me your overall takeaway so far.

My takeaway is that the NBA is a lot more like chess compared to the G League, which is a little bit more like checkers, especially in my position because, you know, limited run.