KJ Martin

Martin remained in a reserve frontcourt role for the Rockets last season. He's undersized (6-foot-6, 215 pounds) but often plays a big-man role. He took 57 percent of his shots at the rim last year -- in the 96th percentile for players classified as forwards. He converted well (66 percent) from that range and shot well on threes, hitting 0.8 per game on 35.7 percent. That resulted in 8.8 points in his 21.0 minutes per game, and he added 3.8 rebounds (1.0 offensive), 1.3 assists and 0.9 combined blocks-plus-steals. That resulted in a fantasy rank of 293rd on a per-game basis. This season, Martin may have trouble reaching that workload. Alperen Sengun will start at center, and Jabari Smith will be at power forward. Backup minutes will be up for grabs, and Martin will compete against Jae'Sean Tate, Tari Eason, Willie Cauley-Stein, Boban Marjanovic and others. The tough situation makes it extremely unlikely Martin will be relevant in standard leagues.

Martin made brief NBA appearances early last season before heading into the G League bubble, where he caught the attention of die-hard Rockets fans by averaging 17.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 assists. Once the bubble season concluded, Martin returned to the Rockets, where he was given a legitimate rotational role. He saw 23.7 minutes per game and averaged 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He also had solid shooting splits of 51/37/71. His upside became clear in games where he was given extended run. In games that Martin saw 30-plus minutes, he averaged 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 combined blocks-plus-steals. However, it doesn't seem that he'll have those types of opportunities in 2021-22. Houston bolstered its frontcourt depth by acquiring Daniel Theis and drafting Aperen Sengun. With Christian Wood, Danuel House and Jae'Sean Tate also in the mix for frontcourt minutes, there's not a ton of space for Martin to see consistent action. Fantasy managers in most redraft leagues can ignore Martin, but there's at least enough to be intrigued about for managers in dynasty/keeper formats.

Martin initially committed to play at Vanderbilt, but he later decided to opt for a postgraduate year at IMG Academy. There, he averaged 20 points and eight boards per game. He's an explosive athlete and an energizing presence, but his skillset needs to be refined for him to see any meaningful minutes in the league.