Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested in September for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, Kysre Gondrezick, in New York City. Prosecutors claimed that Porter, who was charged with felony assault and strangulation, had forcefully squeezed her neck with his hands, causing her difficulty breathing and resulting in her sustaining a fractured neck vertebra.

Not long after, Gondrezick’s lawyer came out and stated that she does not have a fractured neck vertebra, and she's always had a congenital condition.

With Porter's case being ongoing and the Houston Rockets guard missing the NBA preseason, new reports surfaced on Monday acquitting the 23-year-old from a second-degree assault charge.

According to the New York Post, Porter did not break his girlfriend's neck during an alleged fight at their NYC hotel, resulting in prosecutors dropping one of the assault charges against him in court on Monday. This second-degree assault charge was dropped due to “insufficient evidence,” based on accounts from Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer.

Porter still faces charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault as a result of this incident with Gondrezick last month. If convicted of the strangulation charge, Porter could face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, per NY Post.

Amid this investigation, the Rockets have since looked to trade the former first-round pick, offering draft compensation to teams willing to take on his contract. While there were a couple of teams who inquired about this potential trade with Houston, no real deal ever formed.

At this time, Porter remains on the Rockets' roster with the 2023-24 season starting in a week. However, the Rockets did not allow him to show up to the team's facility for training camp, and he has not participated in any preseason events with the organization. His status with the Rockets remains in doubt.

“As soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be a part of the Houston Rockets,” Rockets GM Rafael Stone told reporters during the team's media day at the start of October. “They understood, and he has not been with the team, around the team, or had interaction with the team since that time.”

Porter's potential return to Houston and the NBA will depend on what the league office determines in this matter, as Stone made it clear that the next steps in this process will defer to the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver.

Following Monday's court appearance, Porter is due back in court on Nov. 27.