All valid and true. You really think he's a natural 2? I think as much as anything, what he is/can be held him back at times. He did not start the season well from 3, and as many have noted, with no handle and average to bad defense, its not hard to see why Tate got more minutes and Matthews got minutes over him when he came in all systems firing from 3. I'd rather keep KMJr. but don't think its a huge deal either way... Well... this is pretty interesting. There is ONE thing you forgot to add, though - KMJrs stats are from 2 games, so the sample size is incredibly small. That said, still better to be good then bad, whether starting or otherwise. I'd like him to stay, but at the end of the day am not phased either way.
Trade Matthews and start KJ Martin. Give him the job to start the year. If he sinks trade him and if he swims, start thinking about a long term deal. Silas does suck by the way.
Thanks Nook. Hopefully, he will show that he has improved to a significant extent both mentally and skillwise throughout the upcoming season. I want him to succeed so badly and earn a good 4 year contract on the Rockets.
There is no way for me to know that. I don't know if we have burned any bridges long term, but there are concerns at this point with the attitudes of some of the guys on the roster and it remains to be seen if Silas and Stone are good at their jobs. Remember, we have an unproven owner with an overall poor reputation, a GM that wasn't considered a serious GM candidate before he got the job and a long term assistant that had no experience as a HC.... couple that with having the worst record in the league the last few seasons and some players with checkered backgrounds. Now that perception CAN change, the Warriors were viewed negatively around the league and Popovich was viewed an a joke when he first replaced Hill and became head coach.... so perception can change, but it isn't a guarantee. If the Rockets start to win a lot of games and their decisions prove smart, then they will be rewarded - but we aren't at that point.
Hard to say, he's really a tweener, he lacks things he should have at both the 2 and the 3, but in theory, I think he'd work better at the 2 next to a really good PG.
Kj Martin played less minutes this year than last year. While his field goal percentage improved, he hasn’t improved in any other statical category from yr 1-2. He has superior athleticism, but as others have said, his handles and defense are suspect. I see him as a role player in the nba; I won’t lose sleep over trading him and we wouldn’t have to hear his father yelling at the rockets coaching staff during games or popping off to the media trashing the team. guys, Tate is not getting traded. He is the heart beat of the team and he has worked harder than anyone to get where he is. He’s a legit dog. I think we’re gonna give him another year to see if his shooting can improve. the fact that KJ got less minutes this year is on Silas; that just makes no sense. But KJ has no business requesting a trade (this is clearly being pushed by his father). And now that this is public it hurts our leverage in negotiations and it’s gonna be harder to get good value for him. all of this fuels a really bad narrative about the rockets and a lack of discipline and focused positive basketball mindset. I really hate that. Lots of blame to go around. But it’s time to reset by taking out the trash and building around#3 and Green.
We need to do everything in our power to bring Jerry West over to the rockets, he fixed the Warriors and saved the Warriors owner from trading away Klay, He threaten to quit if Klay was traded to the wovles for Kevin love... we need someone like him working in the FO. hell the warriors owner even wanted to traded Curry at one point during his injury years.
I don't disagree with you, fundamentally really. KJMr SHOULD be able to be good defensively, and it is pretty impossible to tell who we had that might be good defensively one day or not. But when i refer to advanced stats, its more than just DBPM type stuff. We've seen at least one x/y chart recently that showed KMJr as uniquely bad. Whereas even with guys like JG, who was horrible defensively to start, you could SEE and select stats backed up how much better he got by year end. or with Jaygup, who at times got completely burned, you could see lots of potential, etc. With KMJr... how does he get good defensively? Where are stretches or areas of good defense now? I've got no clue... well, correction, he gets some highlight reel blocks...he needed to build on that in year 2, and seems like he got worse at that, and with stuff like the below, was just bad in general.
I like KJ but not bothered with this. He did his part and was a good sport. I am not sold on his abilities as most here and don't think he has a higher ceiling than what he's shown already. He's good in transition and weak side shot blocking. I am not sure if he has carved out a spot or market for him in the league..
At some point Fertitta has to consider if he really wants to be a winning franchise or a laughing stock like the kings, we have a chance to turn it around we have only had Three losing season in franchise history and two of them are under Fertitta soon to be Four losing seasons and Three under him, If after the draft in 2023 we are still having losing seasons there needs to be a big shake up with GM/Coaching/FO.
This isn't even remotely close to accurate. Their first 7 seasons and 9 of their first 11 were all losing seasons. They have been fairly consistently good since, but believe had 5 or 6 losing seasons. Big picture, they have 2 rings. Rings is what matters. Absent rings, winning is better than losing. Big picture, they have a plan. It might not work, might not result in rings, but there's a plan, and it involves making the playoffs and getting better on that front beginning 2023-2024 season.
To be a good 3 & D player you have to be a good shooter and a good defender. He's far from being any of them and odds are will never become it. He doesn't have the physical attributes to be a good defender (jumping is cool but 90% of time you defend on your feet; and neither is tall or long). He neither has the defensive technique, neither the instincts, the habits, the mindset... and his defensive IQ is actually subpar. Has a very poor level defending the post and is a poor rebounder. And he has no offensive skills at all: he can't dribble, can't create his own shot, can't pass... has an ultra dominant hand that limitates his game and makes it very predictable, and can shoot it at an average rate. He can score some open 3s, can score on transition, do some putback slams and attack the closeouts with his acceleration, but becomes easy to scout. There exist plenty of players that can offer you that and more. Of course if you play 20 minutes every day on a bad team you can have some games with good numbers, but it means nothing. I honestly can't see nothing better than a backup role on a bad team with him, be it as a super undersized PF or as a bad wing. Tate is a much better player (that's why coaches prefer him).
Second round draft picks requesting trades over playing time. That's where we're at, I guess. GM's have gotten more analytical and can spot players who may be getting blocked due to roster construction. They will either try to trade for them or lure them away in free agency. If you are worth the gamble, it's going to happen for you. I think KMJ needs to take a step back and look at the contract he signed with the Rockets. That is the contract of a backup player or a trade chip. He is exactly what his contract says he is.
I think it's both. Not to say he's not talented but he's not very good at playmaking for others.The offense looks like ymca pickup basketball when he's running the point. DJ Augustine and Dennis for the short time he was on the floor made the offense flow in a more productive manner, who knows how good John Wall would make things look. KPJ would be better in a Ginobili/Gordon role where he can just come off the bench and get his, there were far too many times last season where he was on the floor competing against Jalen Green instead of facilitating him and getting his points in the flow of the offense. The locker room issues are between he and his teammates
I feel like the organization has undervalued KJ partly because he's a winning player, and would be considered more indispensable once we became competitive (or at least when Jalen/Banchero(?) make a jump into stardom). He's efficient, athletic, low-USG and switchable on D. Is he perfect? No, but the fact that we won't get him at less than $2mil for the last two years of his contract is a big failure on our part. Not to mention that he probably doesn't have as much trade market value as he should because he's been stuck on a tanking team. I highly doubt we get back equal value for him.
I think we are balls deep in our rebuild. Maybe this year was bottoming out or maybe that is 2022-2023. It shouldn't be any later than that. We really lack patience with this process. We make KMJ into some huge failure of the system. I agree with aspects of that (IE he should have played more) but I don't buy it having a ton of consequence. Good shot blocker but was a below average defender overall in my eyes. Sengun Paolo Green KPJ(maybe surround them with shooters and defenders.
We should be looking to give him his wish if it helps us move up in the draft. He’s a nice role player, but probably a 7th/8th man at best on a good team.
