The Rockets are signing rookie KJ Martin, the son of former NBA player Kenyon Martin, to a multi-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s a four-year contract with the first year fully guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). The Rockets will use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Martin.
Martin was the 52nd pick of the draft. Houston acquired the draft rights to the 6’7” forward from the Kings. He prepared for the draft at IMG Academy.
NOVEMBER 25: The Rockets and Kings have each sent out press releases confirming that the trade is complete. Houston officially acquired the rights to Martin in exchange for the Lakers’ 2021 second-rounder and cash, as detailed below.
NOVEMBER 18: The Rockets have agreed to reacquire their pick at No. 52 and used it to select Kenyon Martin Jr., tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.
In order to land Martin at No. 52, the Rockets sent $1MM in cash and the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick to Sacramento, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Martin, the son of the first pick in the 2000 draft, played this year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, after originally committing to Vanderbilt. The 19-year-old was among the players selected for the NBA’s virtual draft combine.
The Rockets originally sent the pick to Sacramento in a three-way trade in 2019 to acquire Iman Shumpert.
Potential No. 1 overall pick LaMelo Ball will be among the prospects participating in the revamped virtual draft combine this week, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Ball is scheduled to take part in team interviews and a media session this week, but may not participate in any other portion, Jeremy Woo of SI.com cautions (via Twitter).
While Ball’s participation might be limited, many of this year’s other top prospects aren’t taking part in the event at all. As Woo points out (via Twitter), Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Obi Toppin, Onyeka Okongwu, Cole Anthony, Aaron Nesmith, Devin Vassell, and Saddiq Bey are among the players who don’t appear on the list of participants sent out by the NBA.
The list of top prospects besides Ball who will be participating in the event includes Precious Achiuwa, Deni Avdija, Tyrese Haliburton, RJ Hampton, Killian Hayes, Theo Maledon, and Isaac Okoro, among others.
Here’s the full list of combine participants, via Charania:
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is unable to hold its typical in-person draft combine this year, but the league has put together an alternative combine that will feature interviews through videoconferencing as well as the making of “pro day” videos, which will include strength and agility testing, anthropometric measurements, and shooting drills. Participants will also undergo medical testing and exams.
For more details on this year’s combine, be sure to check out our full story on the changes.
Kenyon Martin Jr., the son of former No. 1 overall draft pick Kenyon Martin, has declared for the 2020 NBA draft, his father told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The younger Martin opted not to play college basketball at Vanderbilt in 2019/20, instead spending the year at IMG Academy. The 6’7″ wing confirmed his draft decision in a post on Instagram, thanking the “coaching staff, the weight trainers, my teammates, and everyone at IMG” for helping him through the last year.
“I appreciate everyone who has supported me and my decisions is up to this point,” Martin Jr. wrote. “There was a lot of hate and doubt about my journey but I feel I’ve done what was best for me and now is the time to take the next step which is to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. It has been a lifelong dream of mine and I will continue to work day by day to prove to myself and everyone that this is where I belong.”
The pre-draft process, which will be limited this spring, could be important for Martin Jr., who will get feedback from NBA teams after not playing against NCAA competition this season. As Wojnarowski notes, the youngster averaged 20 points and eight rebounds at IMG Academy. He’s currently the No. 53 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, the Celtics front office, long a staunch supporter of flipping the order of the NBA draft and free agency, once again spoke about the idea of having free agency occur before the draft after a pre-draft workout earlier this week.
“I have been a big proponent of switching the draft and free agency,” said director of player personnel Austin Ainge. “I think that most teams build from veteran players first… you more likely are fitting in draft picks in and around a veteran core group. So I think the calendar should follow our decision-making tree. So I think it should be switched.”
The NBA has been open-minded to changes, having recently modified the beginning of free agency to 6pm on June 30 as opposed to midnight on July 1. It remains to be seen whether the league will be as open to changing the order of the draft and free agency.
There are more odds and ends to report from around the basketball world this evening: