Details on Rockets’ KJ Martin looking for a new team

This season is going as well as many expected for the Houston Rockets. Houston doesn’t win many games as they rank last in the Western Conference, and only the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons have worse records. But with only one player on their roster, Eric Gordon, with over three years of NBA experience, this is what you’d expect.

They are still a year or two away from making any noise in the Western Conference playoffs as this season has been more about developing the young players on the team. In that respect, things have gone relatively well.

Jalen Green has some shooting inefficiencies to work through, but a 20-year-old averaging 21.6 points per game in his second season in the NBA is nothing to scoff at. Kevin Porter Jr. continues to grow into a full-time point guard, and Alperen Sengun also breaks into a larger role. There are also high hopes for Jabari Smith Jr., who was selected No. 3 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft and is still making his way as a professional.

There’s a lot to like about the Rockets’ future, but not everyone is as chipper as other players. One of the more disgruntled guys on the team is Kenyon Martin Jr. He asked for a trade before the season and the Rockets refused, saying they would not trade him.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: KJ Martin & Houston Rockets Updates

He was looking for a bigger role elsewhere, and so far this season he got it. Martin plays a career-high 24.0 minutes per game and handles the expanded role well. However, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher ReportMartin still wants to get out of town despite his role growing.

Forward KJ Martin also hoped to be transferred to a team that can give him a bigger role. His minutes have increased in Houston this season, but multiple sources believe he still wants out. As both players have team-friendly contracts ( Gordon has one season left, but it’s for a non-guaranteed $20.9 million; Martin has a team option for $1.9 million) and are viable contributors on the field, the Rockets won’t make a deal they don’t like .”

A second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft from IMG Academy, Martin looks at least a rotation player. Given his age and affordable contract, the Rockets would be looking for some real value in exchange for him.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: KJ Martin & Houston Rockets Updates

There are teams in the NBA that like Martin, so there would definitely be a market if the Rockets ever made him available. If he can become the consistent 3-point shooter he showed in the first two seasons of his career, Martin would be the versatile, prototypical 3-and-D type of player that teams can’t get enough of.