Despite reports of a return to Utah, the high-flying forward heads to training camp with the Timberwolves, seeking to reclaim his place in the NBA rotation.
For a few hours Friday night, it looked like KJ Martin was headed back to the Utah Jazz.
He isn’t.
ClutchPoints published a story headlined, “Jazz bring back 25-year-old forward for second stint,” reporting that Martin was returning to Utah ahead of training camp.
A few paragraphs later … the story quoted HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reporting that Martin had actually agreed to a deal with the ... Minnesota Timberwolves.
Minnesota is where Martin is headed.
The 25-year-old has agreed to a training-camp contract with the Timberwolves and will compete for a roster spot, giving him another opportunity to work his way back into the NBA nearly a year after Utah moved on.
The Utah connection made the initial report plausible enough.
Martin arrived at the 2025 trade deadline as part of the sprawling five-team deal built around Jimmy Butler’s move to Golden State, eventually landing with the Jazz after Philadelphia initially sent him to Detroit.
He appeared in 19 games for Utah and started nine of them, averaging 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.7 minutes per game. Martin shot 49% from the floor and gave the Jazz some of the athleticism that has followed him throughout his NBA career.
The shooting from outside never really came with it.
Martin connected on just 18.9% of his 3-point attempts during his Jazz stint. Across 309 career NBA games with Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Utah, he has shot 54.5% overall while making 32.9% of his attempts from deep.
Utah eventually waived Martin on Sept. 23, 2025. His $8 million salary for the 2025-26 season was non-guaranteed, giving the Jazz a clean path to move on before the season.
Martin’s next stop took him overseas.
He signed with the Ningbo Rockets in China in November and appeared in 22 games, averaging 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. Less than a year later, he has another chance to get himself back onto an NBA roster.
That chance just happens to be coming from one of Utah’s Northwest Division rivals.
Martin still has to make the Timberwolves out of training camp, so there is no guarantee he will be around when Minnesota and Utah eventually meet. Either way, the correction here is pretty straightforward.
There is no second Jazz stint coming right now.
Instead, Martin gets another NBA opportunity — this time with Minnesota — and a chance to prove there is still a place for his athleticism at this level.
