Kevin Martin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kevin Martin Frustrated With Role

March 13th, 2012 at 4:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld hears from a source close to Kevin Martin that the shooting guard is tired of the inconsistent and unexplained rotation choices for the Rockets. Although he's close with Courtney Lee, Martin is frustrated about losing playing time to his Rockets teammate — Martin has played less than 20 minutes in each of Houston's last three games.

According to Ingram, the "word out of Houston" has Lee as the more likely trade candidate than Martin, since the Rockets prefer the 29-year-old. The Bulls, Clippers, Pacers, and Timberwolves are among the teams thought to have some level of interest in Lee, so the Rockets figure to receive plenty of inquiries before Thursday's trade deadline.

Sam Amick of SI.com noted yesterday that a number of Rockets might welcome a trade, and Ingram suggests that some Houston players are "rapidly tiring" of coach Kevin McHale and GM Daryl Morey. The Rockets' situation bears watching in the next couple days, since a roster overhaul isn't out of the question.

Odds & Ends: Sixers, Martin, Jennings

March 12th, 2012 at 8:47pm CST by Michael Pina

Sixers president Rod Thorn says Philadelphia will likely be quiet at the trade deadline, according to the Philadelphia Daily News’ Bob Cooney. When you combine Evan Turner‘s recent transformation into a serious impact starter with the eventual return of injured center Spencer Hawes, who was playing the best basketball of his career before going down, the 76ers aren’t exactly in a position of need. Any trade could screw up one of the league’s most symbiotic rosters.

Rockets guard Kevin Martin says he’s frustrated with his up and down play as of late, and knows it could be the difference as to what team he’s on by the end of March, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. The loss of Kyle Lowry, who’s out at least two weeks with a bacterial infection, may have an impact on whether or not the Rockets choose to move Martin. If they want to make the playoffs this year, they can’t afford to remove their starting backcourt from the equation and expect to compete on a nightly basis.
Brandon Jennings appears to be flustered by an SI report earlier this week that said he was available “for the right price.”
In a column over at Hoopsworld.com, Joel Brigham says that Dwight Howard should be dealt to Chicago, but the Bulls will never pull the trigger. In the piece, Brigham criticizes Chicago for over-valuing its homegrown talent. He cites the team’s refusal to go after Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett in year’s past as evidence that it’s unlikely they’ll make a rightful run at Howard before Thursday’s deadline.
ESPNBoston.com’s Chris Forsberg tweets some interesting words from Celtics GM Danny Ainge says “there’s nothing going on right now” and that “we need another big body for sure, at some point.” The words seem to mean that if Boston doesn’t swing a deal before the deadline, they’ll either pursue someone from the D-league or a bought out player. Injuries to Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox have depleted the team’s front court.

Assessing Stocks: Houston Rockets

February 25th, 2012 at 11:09pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Portfolio Review: The Houston Rockets have perhaps the best point guard in the NBA that isn't quite a franchise point guard in Kyle Lowry. He is entering the prime of his career just as their second best player, Luis Scola, is exiting his. Scola, coincidentally, is just about as good as you can get at power forward without being an All-Star.

And that, in a nutshell, is the Houston Rockets. A group whose individual talents promise falls just short of stardom, and whose collective talents falls somewhere between the 7th seed and just out of the playoffs in the Western Conference.

The Rockets are a team perfectly built around a superstar that no longer exists on their roster. Over the summer they were able to replace that superstar with Pau Gasol, only to have David Stern veto the trade.

Prime Assets: Kyle Lowry has been deemed untouchable in most trade scenarios, though I would strongly take a look at a Lowry for Rajon Rondo-type deal should it present itself. Lowry is the better all-around player, but like the rest of the Rockets roster, lacks a single elite skill. Rondo has a deficient jump shot that skews his team's spacing, something the Rockets would have no trouble accommodating.

With Lowry off the table, the combination of Luis Scola and Kevin Martin were once worth Pau Gasol with a third team. Perhaps they can be again.

Worthless Stock: The only redeeming value for Hasheem Thabeet right now is a team's ability to write they acquired a former no. 2 overall pick in the press releases. He and Jonny Flynn are not toxic assets, but they're certainly not helpful either.

The Rest: The Rockets do not really do bad contracts or bad players. They just don't have very many really good ones. The question is do the Rockets consolidate some of their depth to improve slightly in talent?

Trade Candidate: Kevin Martin

February 24th, 2012 at 6:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yesterday we heard Kevin Martin tell Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle he disputes a report by Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld suggesting he’s dissatisfied with his situation in Houston. Regardless of whom you believe, it’s reasonable to suspect Martin could be on the trading block, since he was part of the ill-fated three-team deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers in December. The Rockets find themselves at 20-14, tied with the Lakers for fifth in the Western Conference after a surprisingly successful first half, but are apparently still pursuing a shakeup. Ingram, in his report, points to tension between the players and new coach Kevin McHale, who on the outside seems like a candidate for Coach of the Year.

Martin has a reputation as an all-offense, no-defense guy, but he’s consistently put up impressive numbers. He’s averaged at least 20 PPG the last five seasons, even though most of his time has been spent on lottery-bound teams in Houston and Sacramento. At 6’7”, he does give you length at the shooting guard position, an asset that teams with undersized backcourts, like Golden State, might covet. His scoring is down this season, at 18.0 PPG, partly the result of almost one fewer shot per game (6.0) compared to last year (6.9). Nonetheless, he makes a fairly attractive option to teams like the Cavs and Wolves who are in need of shooting guard help. His contract, which has 11.5MM guaranteed for this year and $12.4 for next, is a little pricey, but it’s not a long-term commitment.

The Clippers could also use a shooting guard, but they don’t appear to have the tradable assets required to get a deal done. Ingram mentioned the Wolves as a potential partner, and this ESPN Trade Machine idea, a three-teamer that includes the Warriors, could be a possibility. Warriors GM Larry Riley seems keen on making a deal, and if he decides to retool with the future in mind, he might go for a trade like this. The future is also a key component of this deal for the Rockets, who would essentially swap Luis Scola for David Lee and get Derrick Williams, the second pick in the 2011 draft, for Martin.

That said, teams exceeding expectations don’t deal away proven 20-point scorers all that often. Martin might be on the block, but the Rockets seem to be in firm control of the market.

Kevin Martin Disputes Report He’s Dissatisfied

February 23rd, 2012 at 8:30pm CST by Sean Highkin

It has been suggested recently that Kevin Martin is unhappy in Houston, but the veteran guard told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that these reports are inaccurate.

“I think it’s an inappropriate article,” Martin said. “A writer must be starving for attention. He’s not going to bring a distraction around our team. I’m the team’s leading scorer, and we’re in the playoff hunt. I don’t understand how I could not be happy about that. Basically, he’s just making it up.

“Individually and team-wise, we’re doing pretty well.”

Speculation on Martin's happiness in Houston has been prevalent since he was nearly traded in the failed Chris Paul deal from December that would have sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets. Martin, 29, is owed approximately $23.9MM through the remaining two years of the five-year, $53MM deal he signed in 2007. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2012/13 season.

Kyler On Rose, Gasol, Martin, Gordon

February 20th, 2012 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

As we covered this morning, Steve Kyler shared a few Dwight Howard rumors in his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld. Here's the latest from Kyler on a few more topics:

Bulls sources vehemently denied having contact with the Lakers regarding Pau Gasol, and said Chris Sheridan's report about Derrick Rose giving his blessing for the Bulls to pursue Gasol didn't originate from Rose. Kyler himself is skeptical about the rumor, noting that it would be out of character for Rose, who has avoided recruiting players.
Replying to a question about the Rockets trading Kevin Martin, perhaps to the Timberwolves, Kyler tweets that there is "real interest." It's unclear whether he's referring to the Rockets being interested in dealing Martin or the T-Wolves being interested in acquiring him, but you could make an argument that both teams would be motivated to pursue such a deal.
The Hornets are open to moving Eric Gordon, but only if he could bring back a "legit star," tweets Kyler.

Odds & Ends: Martin, Adrien, Kings

February 15th, 2012 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

As we await the next wave of Linsanity tonight at Madison Square Garden, let's check out a few links from around the league:

Kevin Martin, who was nearly traded to the Hornets in December, is unhappy about his role with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
After being waived by the Rockets, Jeff Adrien is drawing overseas interest, according to Sportando. However, the 26-year-old forward prefers to continue pursuing an NBA roster spot.
Adding a point guard before the trade deadline isn't necessarily a priority for the Kings, says team president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee has the details.
Speaking of the Kings, a city council vote last night helped moved plans for Sacramento's new arena forward, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee.
Inspired by Jeremy Lin's recent run, Bruce Arthur of the National Post looks back at six NBA veterans who had successful careers after going undrafted.

Rockets Still Interested In Acquiring Pau Gasol

February 10th, 2012 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets still "have a longing" for the Lakers' Pau Gasol, according to Adrian Wojnarowksi of Yahoo Sports. However, Wojnarowski says the Lakers would ask for Kyle Lowry in any discussions for Gasol, and the Rockets have no desire to deal their starting point guard.

Houston thought it had landed the Lakers' big man prior to the season in the three-team deal that sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, but the trade was nixed by the league. While they don't want to move Lowry in a Gasol trade, the Rockets would probably part with Kevin Martin and Luis Scola, sources tell Wojnarowski. Considering Houston was prepared to give up Martin, Scola, and more in the December deal, that's hardly a surprise.

The Lakers are unlikely to consider moving Gasol unless they're able to upgrade significantly at point guard. So far, the team's search for help at the point has them looking into Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions, while keeping an eye on Gilbert Arenas.