K-Mart to Clippers

[JP le Requin]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/02/clippers-kenyon-martin-agree-on-a-deal.html

Clippers, Kenyon Martin agree on a deal
February 3, 2012 | 9:42 am

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The Clippers and free-agent forward Kenyon Martin have agreed on a mini-midlevel deal that will be finalized as soon as Martin passes a physical, according to an NBA individual familiar with the negotiations.

Martin, who played for the Xinjiang Tigers in China and had been required to wait until their season was over before rejoining the NBA, was cleared to return to the NBA by FIBA, the international basketball federation, Thursday.

Martin is an 11-year NBA veteran who, at 6-foot-9, is expected to bolster the Clippers' inside strength and rebounding performance. He averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in his 11 seasons with the New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets.

Last season, Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in Denver. He is 34.

Martin has a home in Los Angeles and is a friend of Clippers guard Chauncey Billups, a teammate with the Nuggets.

Other teams that had been interested in Martin were the Lakers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.

[Mal]

But, could K-Mart still even jump ?

[SenorSpur]

Is anyone surprised?

[MaNu4Tres]

Is anyone surprised?

First Tyrone Nesby, then Caron Butler, now Kenyon Martin.

:downspin:

[lefty]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ8J9D3djV-39NZX928C5zxH4aXBFjQTZWPjxAzKvsoavL5Bg6q35eiKYBGuA

[SenorSpur]

Good for him. Let him try and squeeze time from Blake Griffin.

[crc21209]

So they have a front-line of Griffin, Jordan, Evans, and Martin now. Not bad....

[MR.SILVER&BLack]

So they have a front-line of Griffin, Jordan, Evans, and Martin now. Not bad....
now watch as Joel pryzbilla signs with the clippers right before the roster deadline.

[letmk]

Since they got Martin now, is it possible that we can get Evans with some perimeter players? I always like Evans and the Clippers can not expect to continually win games by playing three PGs together for the whole season.

[therealtruth]

Billups takes credit for this one. Part of the reason the Spurs can't get FA's is that Spurs players aren't good recruiters.

[Mel_13]

Good for him. Let him try and squeeze time from Blake Griffin.

Griffin plays 37mpg. Jordan plays 31mpg. That leaves 25-30 minutes that are currently being covered with a combination of Reggie Evans, Brian Cook, and small ball.

So there are plenty of minutes with the Clips for KMart (he only played 26mpg last season while missing 34 of 82 games). All he wants to do is play enough to get some team to give him an MLE sized deal this summer.

Plus he gets fed by CP3.

Plus he plays with his buddy Chauncey.

Plus he has a home in LA.

Plus he's KMart and is prone to do some really stupid crap. Stuff that VDN will ignore which would have landed him in Pop's doghouse and he knows it.

The Clippers are the perfect and obvious landing place for Martin.

[TJastal]

Griffin plays 37mpg. Jordan plays 31mpg. That leaves 25-30 minutes that are currently being covered with a combination of Reggie Evans, Brian Cook, and small ball.

So there are plenty of minutes with the Clips for KMart (he only played 26mpg last season while missing 34 of 82 games). All he wants to do is play enough to get some team to give him an MLE sized deal this summer.

Plus he gets fed by CP3.

Plus he plays with his buddy Chauncey.

Plus he has a home in LA.

Plus he's KMart and is prone to do some really stupid crap. Stuff that VDN will ignore which would have landed him in Pop's doghouse and he knows it.

The Clippers are the perfect and obvious landing place for Martin.

I figured he'd land in Clipperland given the clippers lack of depth on the frontline. He'll get a solid 25-30 as the 3rd big off the bench, same as what role the spurs could have used him for.

[SpurNation]

What could have he done for the Spurs anyway? I mean really. He wouldn't have been able to be here until March. The team would be close to set in it's rotations. And it takes longer than a month in a shortened season to even have a clue about where to be on the court. And that's if he was even as good as he was a couple of years ago. Which he's not.

To me (if true) this is a good thing. Let the chips fall where they may this season with who they have. Using it to develop the young players and by virtue of baptism by fire see who's worth keeping from this point forward.

If they make the playoffs this year..Great. If they don't...meh...draft picks in a talented year for draft. Financially...it keeps more for the Spurs to use in attracting a much better F/A talent next year.

[TJastal]

What could have he done for the Spurs anyway? I mean really. He wouldn't have been able to be here until March. The team would be close to set in it's rotations. And it takes longer than a month in a shortened season to even have a clue about where to be on the court. And that's if he was even as good as he was a couple of years ago. Which he's not.

To me (if true) this is a good thing. Let the chips fall where they may this season with who they have. Using it to develop the young players and by virtue of baptism by fire see who's worth keeping from this point forward.

If they make the playoffs this year..Great. If they don't...meh...draft picks in a talented year for draft. Financially...it keeps more for the Spurs to use in attracting a much better F/A talent next year.

I disagree. Martin would have been a huge defensive upgrade over Blair, and seeing as that's what the team is most lacking atm (interior defense) he would have been a very good fit for the spurs, even if he came in raw not knowing a thing about Pop's playbook.

[Mel_13]

I disagree. Martin would have been a huge defensive upgrade over Blair, and seeing as that's what the team is most lacking atm (interior defense) he would have been a very good fit for the spurs, even if he came in raw not knowing a thing about Pop's playbook.

Yep

If you did nothing else but give all of Blair's minutes to Martin, the Spurs would have been a much better team.

[TJastal]

Yep

If you did nothing else but give all of Blair's minutes to Martin, the Spurs would have been a much better team.

Well I hope Pop is at least looking at other options to get rid of Blair or at least move his ass to the bench in favor of some actual size and shotblocking. This year preferably. Barring that, I just don't see a Blair - Duncan frontcourt getting far in the playoffs.

[Duncan2177]

Next Kaman

[Mel_13]

Well I hope Pop is at least looking at other options to get rid of Blair or at least move his ass to the bench in favor of some actual size and shotblocking. This year preferably. Barring that, I just don't see a Blair - Duncan frontcourt getting far in the playoffs.

Barring a trade, the most likely scenario is a Duncan/Splitter/Bonner rotation in the playoffs with Blair's playing time in the single digits.

[Mel_13]

Griffin plays 37mpg. Jordan plays 31mpg. That leaves 25-30 minutes that are currently being covered with a combination of Reggie Evans, Brian Cook, and small ball.

So there are plenty of minutes with the Clips for KMart (he only played 26mpg last season while missing 34 of 82 games). All he wants to do is play enough to get some team to give him an MLE sized deal this summer.

Plus he gets fed by CP3.

Plus he plays with his buddy Chauncey.

Plus he has a home in LA.

Plus he's KMart and is prone to do some really stupid crap. Stuff that VDN will ignore which would have landed him in Pop's doghouse and he knows it.

The Clippers are the perfect and obvious landing place for Martin.

“The Clippers are probably the best place for [Martin] to showcase himself for his next deal,” one rival front-office executive said. “He’s clearly the third-best [big man] without competition from anyone on their roster.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_kenyon_martin_clippers_nba_020312

[TJastal]

Barring a trade, the most likely scenario is a Duncan/Splitter/Bonner rotation in the playoffs with Blair's playing time in the single digits.

Still missing that athletic shot blocker with some springs & size. Duncan is 35 and Splitter is not exactly a jumping jack. I like the way Bonner is playing atm but it can't be stressed enough about his limitations in playoff basketball. Duncan and Splitter cannot hold the fort alone.

I think Pop is at least aware of this deficiency in trying to take a look at Thomas, but that was a shot in the dark. Spurs need much better than that.

Hate to beat a dead horse, but Ian Mahinmi would have been able to fill this role nicely for the spurs.

[ChumpDumper]

Don't lie. You love beating that dead horse.

[Bruno]

Well, K Mart would have helped Spurs so it sucks. A Duncan, Splitter and martin PF/C rotation would have been nice.

Back to heavy minutes of Blair and Bonner...

fml.

[DrSteffo]

Is anyone surprised?

Not me. We will not advance past the first round if we have to rely on Bonner and Blair. It was obvious last season to everyone except Pop and his blind followers and it's just as obvious now. Limit them to 10 min each and we have a chance.

[Solid D]

First Tyrone Nesby, then Caron Butler, now Kenyon Martin.

:downspin:

Don't forget...before Tyrone Nesby, there was Ken "The Animal" Bannister.

[DrSteffo]

So u liked last season? Bonner and Blair are legit bigs?

[TJastal]

Don't lie. You love beating that dead horse.

There's a few horses that aren't dead yet that I can beat on too. Pop is damn fortunate that Danny Green isn't playing in Europe right now. That was another bungled move by the FO that fortunately didn't turn out as bad.

Thanks, fate.

Figure with Green & Leonard shoring up the perimeter defense, the spurs are just a solid rotational big man away from being considered amongst the elite.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9205/puzzlepic.jpg

Will Pop find the missing piece? Let's cross our fingers.

[ChumpDumper]

lol fortunate

[JP le Requin]

blair and bonner arent real center...why we continue to talk abouth them as center...
bonner is a big SF but not athletic and cant score in PO time
and blair is too much undersized and isnot barkley or griffin....i dont understand...is he not in his last rookie contract year? he should show to bufford and pop more skills if he wants to stay @ san antonio?? or he keeps his energy for next year ?

we need KAMAN
or okafor...

[DrSteffo]

PF or C doesn't matter much but we need one of those still. And if Pop plays Blair or Bonner ahead of Splitter he should be fired.

[angelbelow]

Is anyone surprised?

No but still sucks. Grew to like the guy after 03.. at this point though, even though hes had operation after operation and hes 35, he still would have been a nice fit here.

Clippers were also pretty desperate for front court help though.. outside of the Griffin and Jordon they pretty much only have Brian Cook (x5 worse than Bonner). I guess Billups helped out too.

[LakerHater]

China is demanding that the power forward honor his contract and that FIBA reverse its decision to grant clearance.

[TD 21]

Billups takes credit for this one. Part of the reason the Spurs can't get FA's is that Spurs players aren't good recruiters.

What's worse, I'm not even sure they do much recruiting. If they did, we'd hear about it, at least on occasion. We hear about how Billups and him were teammates, but Jefferson and him were teammates longer and went to two Finals together. That doesn't count for nothing? I know it doesn't assure that they're friends, but what are the odds they're not? It just seems like the veterans on this team have less connections and bonds in the league than any other credible team.

The Spurs were the best fit, have at least as good a shot at a championship this season, play in his home state (I know he has a home in L.A., but still) and could have offered as much money, yet we all knew he definitely wasn't signing with them. I aware of what the term free agent entails, but there's something about that that doesn't sound right.

[ChumpDumper]

The Spurs weren't the best fit by a long shot.

SpursTalk: We Know Overanalysis

[TD 21]

The Spurs weren't the best fit by a long shot.

Not if you mean his personality and their culture, no, but I'm talking on court fit. He's exactly what they lack.

[TJastal]

What's worse, I'm not even sure they do much recruiting. If they did, we'd hear about it, at least on occasion. We hear about how Billups and him were teammates, but Jefferson and him were teammates longer and went to two Finals together. That doesn't count for nothing? I know it doesn't assure that they're friends, but what are the odds they're not? It just seems like the veterans on this team have less connections and bonds in the league than any other credible team.

The Spurs were the best fit, have at least as good a shot at a championship this season, play in his home state (I know he has a home in L.A., but still) and could have offered as much money, yet we all knew he definitely wasn't signing with them. I aware of what the term free agent entails, but there's something about that that doesn't sound right.

Don't knock RJ, I think he'd be a great recruiter of the gay/lesbian/transexual nba player base.

[ChumpDumper]

Not if you mean his personality and their culture, no, but I'm talking on court fit. He's exactly what they lack.Sure he'd be great for the Spurs, but not it's not the best fit for Martin.

[ChumpDumper]

Don't knock RJ, I think he'd be a great recruiter of the gay/lesbian/transexual nba player base.SpursTalk: We Know Tired Repetition

[TD 21]

Sure he'd be great for the Spurs, but not it's not the best fit for Martin.

Depends. If it's about who he'd rather hang out with, no. If it's about playing as big a role as possible on a potential contender and parlaying that into one final relatively big deal, yes.

[ChumpDumper]

Depends. If it's about who he'd rather hang out with, no. If it's about playing as big a role as possible on a potential contender and parlaying that into one final relatively big deal, yes.He's getting that in LA.

[TD 21]

He's getting that in LA.

He could have played a bigger role on the Spurs. And with him -- barring injury -- they'd have been more likely to go deep in the playoffs than the Clippers.

[TJastal]

He could have played a bigger role on the Spurs. And with him -- barring injury -- they'd have been more likely to go deep in the playoffs than the Clippers.

He could have if we had a coach who would have actually used him in a starting role. With Pop, that's doubtful. Pop would have talked a big game about Martin being a big part of the team and then given him diminishing minutes as the season progressed in favor of his two favorite turds.

That's the problem of having a GM/coach. Pop is always going to keep trying to find justification/fix his fuck-up FO decisions.

[timtonymanu]

Another case of the Spurs being rejected. Moving along.

[SpurNation]

He could have played a bigger role on the Spurs. And with him -- barring injury -- they'd have been more likely to go deep in the playoffs than the Clippers.

That remains to be seen. However, Clips are more "glamorous" and "nationally presented" which may have been a reasoning on his part as well.

[ChumpDumper]

He could have played a bigger role on the Spurs.At best, about the same role.
And with him -- barring injury -- they'd have been more likely to go deep in the playoffs than the Clippers.Remains to be seen.

[Obstructed_View]

As free agent snubs go, I just can't really generate any disappointment that I don't have to try to root for Kenyon Martin.

[therealtruth]

Well I hope Pop is at least looking at other options to get rid of Blair or at least move his ass to the bench in favor of some actual size and shotblocking. This year preferably. Barring that, I just don't see a Blair - Duncan frontcourt getting far in the playoffs.

And it's not like last year where he could argue if it's not broken don't fix it.

[therealtruth]

Still missing that athletic shot blocker with some springs & size. Duncan is 35 and Splitter is not exactly a jumping jack. I like the way Bonner is playing atm but it can't be stressed enough about his limitations in playoff basketball. Duncan and Splitter cannot hold the fort alone.

I think Pop is at least aware of this deficiency in trying to take a look at Thomas, but that was a shot in the dark. Spurs need much better than that.

Hate to beat a dead horse, but Ian Mahinmi would have been able to fill this role nicely for the spurs.

Pop's his own worst enemy he has a shorter lease for any player not named Bonner.

[tmtcsc]

The Clippers are some of the most physically talented players but basketball ignorant teams in the league. Save for Chris Paul and Billups, that team is devoid of some smarts.

These guys aren't going to win shit and Kenyon is further proof of that. We could have benefited from 15 to 20 minutes of that twitchy clown, but only if Pop and the rest of the guys gave him the proper marching orders.

Maybe the Clips can go and sign the other mental midget chucker from China - JR SMITH.

That's all.

[tmtcsc]

Another case of the Spurs being rejected. Moving along.

No big loss. Wilson Chandler would be a better signing for us.