I remembered Kenyon Martin demanding more playing time for his son or threatening they’d be demanding a trade. Well that up to this point (12/18/23) has gone miserably and has exposed KJ Martin as why he went in the 2nd round. Outside of Houston he’s been a zero on win share. He’s not even been an afterthought on the Clippers or now the 76’ers. Instead of being happy that KJ Martin was being given actual NBA minutes here in Houston, Kenyon Martin and KJ stirred and muddied the waters here in Houston. The Rockets did not need any malcontents, and if KJ ever figured in the future, he no longer did after that. Especially for a dime a dozen talent, albeit a hard worker.
his best skill is dunking that’s cool on a 20 win team But on a team that’s trying to win? They’ll be wondering if u can defend…if u can reliably space the floor
Scrub leaper that doesn't know how to actually play basketball. Got minutes on a tanking squad, but can't crack a rotation on a real one. Why? What is he actually good at. Tate plays defense. When a long and athletic 22 year old gets passed around like a blunt there's usually a reason
I thought the same thing for seasons but at this point Tate is the better defender and fit for the current Rockets.
feels like Tate coming back down to earth. but i agree about tate's defense. But I think Ime could teach KJ to play defense.
No because we have Brooks, Eason and Whitmore on the team who already have more skills than him who need time.
If we did, his whiny ass dad better say some DAMN GOOD things about the club on that stupid Arenas podcast, like at least every other week...
Sengun was a very big contributor for why KJ looked good. Of course KJ had the skill and IQ of knowing when to cut and at what angles etc - something no one on the Rockets has anymore. But with no Sengun all those easy buckets have disappeared.
Absolutely. Even for a few minutes a night. If he's on the floor with Sengun the immediate double team we've been seeing lately on Sengun goes back to not being as effective because they'd finally have a player ready to make use of the space created. No one on the Rockets is doing that anymore and you can tell Sengun is constantly looking for it when he gets the ball with his back to the basket and surveys the court before deciding to make a move.
I actually am a KJ fan. I wouldn't mind bringing him back for free, but I don't know if he'd play more than a few minutes a game. He's not playing over Tari, obviously.
HOU (3 seasons) 206 games 24.3 minutes per game. --------------------------------------------------- LAC 2 games 15.5 minutes PHI 13 games 5.7 minutes (went to PHI in the Tucker/Harden deal) --------------------------------------------------- Going to a new team, playoff teams, the minutes normally go down, unless that team severely lacks depth or have injuries. I imagine his dad would have factored this, where KJ ends up less (not more minutes). He's 1.9 mil this year, and UFA by this summer. He might get a deal somewhere in the NBA (maybe?); or may start looking at going to Europe. If he remained on the Rockets; it's possible we never get Bullock.
All he can do is jump. Good riddance. He handled his situation poorly here and now he's close to out of the league. If you are going to be vocal about what he felt he deserves you actually need to earn it. Good luck playing overseas KJ
KJ's strengths and weakensses don't align well with how the NBA is played. He's an undersized PF who is quite bad on defense with the exception of help side shot blocking. He gets bodied by most 4 and 5's on defense and rebounding. On offense he has limited dribbling abilities, unreliable 3 pointer. His strength is jumping high on fast breaks and doing cuts to the rim. It's very situational so it's hard to play him on a winning team extended minutes.
I'm surprised how little he is playing. He's a good finisher and runs the floor very well. His 3pt shot wasn't great but was serviceable. He has the tools and athleticism to be a good defender, and his advanced numbers were pretty good last year for his role. Maybe he didn't work on his craft enough and fell off in practice.
