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K.J. Martin, the son of Kenyon Martin, expressed on Wednesday his gratitude for the Houston Rockets taking a chance on him in the second round of the NBA draft last week.
The Rockets entered the draft without a selection but opted to purchase a second-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a 2021 pick. They used that pick to take the 19-year-old Martin, who played a post-graduate year at the IMG Academy.
Martin averaged 19.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks last season and shot 69.1% on 2-point field goals. He is viewed as one of the most athletic prospects in the draft this year and posted a 38.5-inch max vertical jump at the combine.
He was ecstatic the Rockets bought a draft pick to select him.
“It was great,” Martin told Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston. “It was great to hear because Houston had no picks and they bought a pick for me. So it made me feel very welcome and very wanted. I’m very excited and (Houston) is obviously a great city.”
The Rockets haven’t yet announced the signing of Martin but he said he is eager to get to work this season. The organization faces some uncertainty with James Harden and Russell Westbrook each looking to move on so Martin could eventually be in the team’s rebuilding plans.
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