In search of more playing time entering his third NBA season, reserve forward KJ Martin reportedly approached the Houston Rockets during the 2022 offseason about a potential trade elsewhere.
As of late September, it hasn’t happened. But with the Rockets having added two highly touted first-round rookie forwards in the 2022 draft, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, the underlying calculus certainly hasn’t changed. If anything, the path to rotation minutes for the 21-year-old is even more difficult.
At Monday’s media day, which kicks off the Rockets’ 2022-23 training camp, Martin reported to camp with his teammates and was asked whether he sees his long-term future in Houston.
His answer did not provide much clarity:
“I’m just here to do my job,” Martin said. “Everything else is between upper management and my agents. This summer, my goal was to get better and try to make the team better. I feel like I got better.”
KJ Martin: “I’m just here to do my job. Everything else is between upper management and my agent.” #Rockets pic.twitter.com/VVmGItqgpb
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) September 26, 2022
With Martin under contract at a relatively cheap rate for two more seasons, the Rockets understandably aren’t desperate to trade an athletic forward who has averaged 9 points (52.4% FG, 36.0% on 3-pointers) and 3.8 rebounds in 22 minutes per game over two seasons. It would require solid value to general manager Rafael Stone.
But for a player entering his third NBA season, reduced minutes aren’t ideal. Whether the two sides can find a happy medium, or if a trade ultimately materializes, is a storyline worth monitoring as the 2022-23 regular season approaches.
