Jr should definitely be starting over Gordon. At this point EGO we should have our thank you for your service speech in mind for EGO. Not letting KMJ start over him is criminal when he's being more productive than Eric when he is on the floor.
His grievance is 100% justified. He 100% should be starting over Gordon and Tate. Hyperathletic young prospects on a rebuilding team should have minutes pumped into them.
Been sayin it. Will continue to say it. KJs development is more important than Gordon and Tate and he should have been starting last year FFS
KMJ is just as athletic as Green, really. They can both fly. Alpi, Green, Tari, Bari, KMJ, Garuba, TyTy, KPJ (in that order, for me). That's a very talented team right there. A good coach would recognize it and develop these players accordingly. If someone says "yes but they have been improving", well, they could and should have been improving even more. There is no excuse for playing any of the other guys over these guys.
https://theathletic.com/3991205/2022/12/12/rockets-trade-eric-gordon/ Iko: Another player who has drawn interest from other teams is K.J. Martin. The third-year forward wanted to be traded during the offseason but he’s since backed down and has enjoyed a productive start to the season — leading to Martin expressing openness to staying in Houston long-term. How would an extension work for him and what does his market look like? What player deals would you use as a benchmark? Leroux: An in-season extension for Martin is very tricky because the Rockets hold a team option for the 2023-24 season, meaning he is not on an expiring contract and normally would not be eligible to sign an extension until the 2023 offseason. However, Stone can decline that $1.9 million team option to change that status and then extend his deal. In terms of the numbers, the biggest constraint on a Martin extension is the estimated average salary for the 2023-24 season (the first new year of the theoretical extension) and that is not available yet but $11.2 million is a reasonable rough guess. That would mean the most the Rockets could offer is somewhere in the $12-14 million per season range over up to four new seasons. Considering Martin Jr has not established himself as definitively starter quality, that is richer than I would offer right now but the two sides are allowed to agree to an extension up to or below that $12-14 million per season. Martin’s trade value is tough because he has definitely improved but may not have a true calling card that makes another team fall in love just yet. That said, 78 percent finishing around the basket and 67 percent overall from 2 is enough to intrigue even if Martin’s 3-pointer is still a work in progress. My instinct is that Martin would not yield a first-round pick himself but there are ways Stone could add to the trade and make it possible, as he did with the PJ Tucker deal in 2021, or by adding a young player who is not key to their plans.
Idk what you do with KMJ. His ability to finish is elite. He can rise up and dunk faster than most anyone and on a fast break he is money to get to the rim. His 3 isn’t there, neither is his defense or shot creation. Could a team with stars at other positions win with him as a starter at SF? I just don’t see it because he doesn’t offer you the 3 and D teams usually need ala Ariza or Tucker.
I agree with all of this, and at the same time, how do you let a guy go when he's one of the few players on the team who plays efficient, winning basketball? He's second on the team in WS and he's averaging 14/7/2/1 as a starter this season and 16/6/2/1 after the All-Star break. Is this going to be another RoCo or Gary Payton II situation where we let a quality role player go only to watch him thrive on a winning team somewhere else? And we've seen him have more success than we saw with those guys. Gun to my head, if I had to pick between keeping KPJ or KJ this offseason, I think I'd rather keep KJ. His ceiling is lower, but I know he can help me win games when the team gets to a point where it's trying to win again.
Love KJ… he can’t be our starting 3 if we’re gonna be serious about contending. He’s not a good defender, he can’t dribble, and can’t shoot.
The Rockets right now are essentially a team where every single player is one step ahead of where he should be if he was on a contending team. The starters should be bench players and the bench players, for the most part, should be third-stringers keeping the bench warm (with the possible exception of Tari, who should already be starting instead of KJ.) The main difference comes in when you start to talk about upside. Some of these guys are going to develop into starters, and hopefully even stars in the league. KJ isn't one of them. He might be starting for the Rockets right now, but his ceiling in the NBA is "good bench player" IMO. That's fine and all, but I would plan to replace him as a starter next season.
if KJ really wants to take the next step he is going to have to develop his defense or else he will be phased out of lineups by the age of 27. an athletic undersized sf/pf in this league has a short shelf life.
KJ needs to be able to shoot from outside in order to make big money in this league. Athleticism can only take you so far. One thing he does very well is knowing when to cut. He's kind of a 6'6 rim runner. If he's 4 inches taller, he'd be much more valuable to teams.
He's a winning type player u want on our team but he is pretty expendable with his limited offense and so so defense. Him and Tate are the ones u expect to be able to hit 3s
I have faith that he can fix that 3pt shot. Like I've said for all the players, we have extremely difficult conditions for shooting, almost everyone is shooting below expectations from 3. His numbers are probably affected by that too. I think he can be roughly a 36% shooter next season. I really don't care that he can't handle the ball. Everything is possible without handles as long as there are people with handles on the team. He's great at cutting, dunking, fast break, jumping for loose balls, motivating his teammates, hustles on rebounds but most times he's better off outrunning his opponent in transition. That's all good. My big issue is I'm not certain he'll ever be more than an average defender, so half the time he's average at best and on offense he's just good. Comes off the bench and gives you great minutes. Overall I love him if he's our 7th or 8th best player on a contending team. Cap our spending at $15m starting salary. If he could put on some muscle faster, it would probably help him at the 4 combined with his hops. That might make him worth closer to $18m. We have to stay in role player territory. Wouldn't be surprised if they get him cheaper though since everyone's numbers are deflated. He's a good kid, it would be nice if we can keep him on a contract we're both happy with.
You could say that about the star players Green, Sengun are all but playoff caliber yet but I agree Kenyon doesn't fit the slogan 'Get under the tax'.
he has limitations, but has shown to be a serious pro. Reminds me a bit of Jeremy Grant. Came with an NBA pedigree, very athletic, but very limited. Lotsa doubters early on in his career, but the guy trusted himself and followed his path. Established himself as a max or or near max player, eventually. I can see similar trajectory with KJM
