I mean this isn't as bad as people think it is, and a life time ban seems like a big deal. All he did was to let them know he will not be playing, that's it and him not playing can't be such a huge bet. I do not know where people would "jontay porter" focused bets, like how much he will score, over/under , or the minutes he is going to play etc etc. That seems like a very rare bet to find, but that's about it, only thing he did was to disclose he will not be playing. Let's not act as if he himself bet on the game and the winner and missed shots on purpose because of it or something like that.
In the end, he was given a punishment which I think is a lot, but at least he will have a chance to play in some other teams at other leagues.
I agree that the punishment was too big for what he did. Players are just people, they get drunk, they talk a lot, they aren't reminded every day that they are to keep their mouth shut.
Think of a situation that could happen to you. You're a pro player and you throw a party where a lot of people gather up. You're all having fun and they ask you if you can drink because you probably have training tomorrow because there's a match coming up and you say that you have a couple days off because your leg hurts and you had a doctor look at it today and that's it - they figure the rest out that since you're not going to be at training sessions they're not going to let you play in that match. Is that really something that can get you a lifetime ban? I guess it can, but should it? Definitely not. Players aren't some trained spies that can't leak any personal info to friends and family.
But that is not what happened, he purposely revealed information about his health, faked injuries and bet against his own team using the account of other gamblers, this clearly show intent on his part to manipulate the results, cheat the sportbooks, his team, teammates, the NBA and the fans as a whole, and the rules are very specific about the kind of punishment that he deserves and that is exactly what he got, and it is even possible he will get jailed and he will have to return all the money that he was paid for those bets and by the Raptors, as this is clearly a breach of contract on his part.