The Houston Rockets have acquired the rights to rookie guard KJ Martin Jr. in a trade with the Sacramento Kings in exchange for cash considerations and a future L.A. Lakers second round pick attained via trade with Detroit.
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.
Per the Houston Chronicle, KJ had this to say: “Being around it and seeing it all my life, now I’m in the situation my dad was in a way, I’m just very excited,” Martin said. “I feel like it made me a better player. People ask, ‘Is it harder for you because of your dad?” I kind of take it as an advantage. A lot of kids don’t see that type of stuff and be around NBA guys and see how they work. I took all that in and put it to use for myself. It paid off.”
Martin (6-6, 215) was the 52nd overall pick by the 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.
More from the Chronicle: “The league is crowded with second generation players Devin Booker (Melvin,) Jalen Brunson (Rick,) Bol Bol (Manute,) Amir Coffey (Rick,) Steph and Seth Curry (Del,) Jae Crowder (Corey,) Ed Davis (Terry,) Darius Garland (Winston,) Jerami Grant (Harvey,) Al Horford (Tito,) Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Love (Stan,) Wesley Matthews (Wes,) Larry Nance Jr., Jabari Parker (Sonny,) Gary Payton II, Austin Rivers (Doc,) Glenn Robinson III, Domantas Sabonis (Arvydas,) Garrett Temple (Hollis,) Klay Thompson (Mychal,) Gary Trent Jr., Andrew Wiggins (Mitchell,) and Justise Winslow (Ricky.)”
