The Houston Rockets were active in free agency, and they came away from the beginning of free agency as a new-look team with bigger expectations next season.
Bringing in veteran players like Jeff Green, Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks is automatically going to drive away some young players on a rebuilding team. That's three roster spots and three players that are no longer going to get the adequate playing time needed to develop their young games.
For Kenyon Martin Jr., a trade makes sense. Martin had asked for a trade ahead of last season. The act of requesting that trade was reported to be because a lack of space on the roster. Now, there was going to be even less.
The Rockets traded Martin to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers sent the Rockets two future second-round picks, those being a 2026 Clippers' second-round pick and 2027 Memphis Grizzlies' second-round pick.
For Martin, the Rockets allowed a late second-round pick develop his game and carve out a career for himself. Most players picked near the end of the draft don't get the opportunity he had gotten with the Rockets.
Martin appeared on The IkoSystem, a podcast by Kelly Iko. He then opened up on his time in Houston with the Rockets.
"They gave me an opportunity to come in and prove that I'm an NBA player. Houston will always have a place in my heart," Martin said on the podcast. "I love Houston forever. However, LA is home for me."
Martin also mentioned that he thanked everyone in the organization that helped him get to the position that he's in now.
The Rockets played Martin in 206 games, with 82 coming in this past season. He averaged 24.3 minute per game during his time in Houston, which is more than most players in his position would get.
This past season, the 6-6 forward averaged 12.7 points per game in 28 minutes per game. The high-flyer also pulled down 5.5 rebounds per game. He now gets the chance to go to a team like the Clippers and try and help them win.
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