I went from thinking he'd probably be traded to thinking there's a decent chance he's a big part of the rebuild. Not necessary starting -- I think there's a far greater chance Tari is the answer at 3 next to Smith. But KMJ could thrive in a sixth/seventh man role.
If Gordon is moved soon we will be able to increase Martin’s value before the trade deadline. This sounds counterintuitive but Martin is not part of the core so sell high and don’t pay for mediocrity. I was confused by the Tate signing because now we have 2 players playing for the same playing time knowing neither should be here in two seasons. Sorry make that three with Eason now in the fold demanding playing time. What to do? Gordon, Tate, & Martin all have value, but Eason & Smith seem are the answer now & in the future. Martin needs playing time to increase the trade value he has. He is nothing more than trade bate or throw in to close a bigger trade.
There’s never been anything to change a mind about, he’s played great every year, athletic young 3&D wing
He only looked like a scrub during his rookie year, after that he improved consistently. My main issue with him is he reportedly wanted out and even his dad got on his soapbox on tv. He's got 2 yrs on his current contract but personally I wouldn't be too attached to him cuz he might demand a trade or even opt out, he's already a flight risk IMO.
Yeah, that's about where I am at - I think maybe 7th or 8th man coming off the bench IF we decide we are an uptempo team focusing on creating turnovers, running the break and being an aggressive defensively and offensively(Memphis style). If we are going to be a plodding half court team, then KMJ probably doesn't belong on this roster but this is where his value rests largely on the team's identity and we largely have been in "wait and see" mode but I think this year we have to start shaping a team identity and I think this will largely determine the long term value guys like KMJ, Sengun, and even Josh christopher has for us.
Ok KMJ and Tate aren't guards at all lol. They are too slow laterally to be guards. They're both bench players, you mix them with starters and the output doesn't drop that drastically. Garuba is a scrub so far I dunno why put him automatically over KMJ and tate.
I have always thought that if he developed his three he had a very bright future in this league. He needs more minutes.
We have freak athletes like Tari, KPJ, Bari and Green and we don't really have super skilled and methodical players on our team we have a bunch of young guns. We ain't playing half court only Sengun, Bari and maybe Green can score in a half court style offense.
He's not a fit. He played well at some points last year, but even when he plays well its all about him getting hot, not really playing good ball imo
That's why it's so hard to evaluate players who are 18-22 years old. Who's going to put in the hours of hard work to fill in the gaps in the talent they had when they were drafted? Who's going to soak in all the coaching? Who's going to develop the mental aspect that will increase their value to the team? Everyone loudly proclaiming that {insert name of young player} will never make it in the NBA seems to be overlooking the fact that some players work diligently to become better. The trick is to get those youngsters to do it now, rather than wait a year or two when they've moved on to another team.
I love the guy. If he wants to be here, he should be here, but that’s the real issue with him right now. If he’s not happy, you can’t risk keeping him around. I hope they can find a way to work it all out because I love his game.
For some reason I don’t have an opinion on Martin. I’ve never had an opinion on Martin. He’s on the team, he gets some minutes, but that’s about it. He just doesn’t really do anything that makes me have any opinion about him at all. What position does he even play?
I had a wait-and-see view on KJ Martin. After the recent pre-season game, relatively speaking, he looked better than several of the other Rocket guys. It's only pre-season, but as the games pile up, we should judge by merit and performance instead of politics. He's ahead of several guys in recent play. Maybe compare to the rest of the league, he's still in that bench tier, but on this team (at least) last night, he looked better than Alp, Josh (until Q4), Gary. As far as KJ's market, if he goes elsewhere, there are maybe just a few teams who can use him. It's not that KJ is not good, there's just lot of players in the league. When I lurk on other rebuild teams, many want to see what their young guys are made of. Like us, they're also trying to peel away the unknown. So rebuild teams may not have as many open roster spots as KJ's dad think. Contender teams want more experienced guys. There are a few teams who maybe used up their cap, but lacked depth (Lakers / Wizards) for example. If a roster spot, KJ's cheap contract could appeal to them. Again, it's still a toss up whether he gets more minutes there than here.
My opinion hasn't changed, it's been solidified .... Offensively he's solid, does a lot of things well and fits the team / system. But for him to take that next step and be a rotation piece on a good team he's got to improve his perimeter defense. He has the athletic ability to guard 1-4 ...
If he works on his defense and his 3pt shot, he'll be in the leauge a long time. He has all the tools not to be able to do that.
