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Rockets sign KJ Martin Jr. to four-year deal; first season guaranteed

Ben DuBose
·3 min read

Houston is signing rookie prospect KJ Martin Jr. to a four-year contract, with the first season fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

The Rockets, who are subject to a hard salary cap after signing-and-trading for Christian Wood, will be using a portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception (MLE) to give Martin the extended deal. Since they cannot use their MLE in full without exceeding the hard cap, it makes sense for them to use it in smaller portions (with extended years) to lock up young prospects, as they’ve done with Martin and Jae’Sean Tate.

Without using the MLE, any “minimum exception” contract offers — even if similar in annual value to MLE bids — would be limited to two years or less in length. By using the MLE, the Rockets are able to allow these prospects to develop within the organization over a longer period of time before they are able to unilaterally become free agents.

As for Martin specifically, the Rockets agreed to trade for the No. 52 pick in the NBA’s 2020 draft to select him. At 6-foot-6 and just 19 years old, Martin is projected to be athletic enough to play guard or forward. He’s the son of Kenyon Martin, the NBA’s No. 1 pick in the 2000 draft.

A three-star [high school] recruit from Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles, Martin originally committed to play collegiately for Vanderbilt before opting for a postgraduate year at IMG Academy.

In the draft trade announcement, here’s how the team described him:

Martin (6-6, 215) was the 52nd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft. He spent last season with IMG Academy’s post-graduate team, which posted a 29-3 record, and averaged 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 69.1% from inside-the-arc.

The 19-year-old is the son of Kenyon Martin, who was the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. Martin Jr. attended Sierra Canyon School in California, where he was teammates with Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cassius Stanley, who was selected by Indiana with the 54th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Here’s Martin’s summary from the Rookie Wire big board:

Kenyon Martin Jr. tested well at the combine, recording a 3/4 sprint and max vert both well above-average for his position. Martin has been described as “arguably the best athlete in the draft” and he did much better on the shooting drills than many expected, shooting 71% in the 3-point endurance drill. The main thing that is holding him back is just his body of work.

Martin is already in Houston, and he will report to training camp later this week with the rest of the 2020-21 Rockets, with individual workouts slated to begin on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Due to COVID-19 testing protocols, the team’s group work doesn’t commence until Sunday. Dec. 6.

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