BREAKING: NBA castoff Kevin Porter Jr. is offered plea deal by New York City DA's office in domestic violence case that could let him avoid jail time after arrest for 'strangling girlfriend'

NBA free agent Kevin Porter Jr. was back in a Manhattan court on Monday, where New York City prosecutors offered him a plea deal that could help him avoid jail time after being arrested in September on allegations that he hit and strangled his girlfriend. 

'At today’s appearance, The People made the following offer on the record: if he pleads guilty to Assault in the Third Degree (a misdemeanor) and completes Abusive Partner Intervention Programming (APIP) or equivalent programming, and abides by the temporary order of protection, he would be able to re-plead to Harassment in the Second Degree (a violation), with a final limited order of protection,' read the statement provided to DailyMail.com by the DA's office. 

Harassment in the second degree is punishable in New York State by up to 15 days in jail, but often results in a 'times served' sentence. A DA's office spokeswoman has confirmed that Porter can avoid jail by accepting the plea deal and following the terms of the agreement. 

Porter's next court date is January 16. 

The former Houston Rockets guard was arrested on September 11 in mid-town Manhattan on allegations that he strangled and repeatedly punched Kysre Gondrezick, a former WNBA player and his now-ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors claim that Gondrezick told officers that Porter hit her with a closed fist, causing her to suffer a gash above her right eye. 

Subsequent reports claimed he broke a vertebrae in her neck, but that has since been revealed to be a genetic defect and not an injury. Because of that, Manhattan prosecutors previously dropped the second-degree assault charge against Porter, who now only faces counts of third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation.

Porter Jr.'s now-ex-girlfriend has downplayed the alleged September 11 attack that led to his arrest, subsequent trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder and his release.

'He never balled his fists up and hit me,' Gondrezick told the New York Post in October. 'And he definitely didn't punch me in the face numerous times. That is a lie. I don't have any injuries to support that.'

The alleged attack is said to have ended with Gondrezick fleeing the room and being discovered bloodied and bruised by hotel employees, according to prosecutors. The two have not been in contact since the incident due to a protective order, which was lifted Monday.

But while Gondrezick confirmed that she and Porter are no longer a couple, she continued to downplay the incident, insisting that prosecutors are mistaken about what took place.

'It happened very fast, not to the degree of what was reported,' she told the Post. 'And it was an argument that occurred in the room for not even 10 seconds.'

The NBA player had reportedly returned from a night out in the early hours of September 11. Gondrezick, unhappy with how late he had come back, locked the door.

Once Porter got into the room - with the help of hotel security - he allegedly attacked Gondrezick.

Following his arrest, Porter was released on $75,000 cash bail, with the judge ordering him to stay away from Gondrezick and imposing a temporary protection order that was lifted last month. 

Now Porter is a free agent. 

The Rockets traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder following his arrest, and he was ultimately released. 

Porter had been asked to stay away from the Rockets following his arrest in New York.