It won’t exactly be like old times, what with Father Time and all, but veteran Kenyon Martin is being courted by Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd. Nothing is written in stone yet but sources put the aging free agent in Cleveland today where Kidd and staff will be working him out.
NBA diehards will remember that Martin and Kidd were a dynamic duo back in ’02 and ’03 on a Nets team that made it to the NBA Finals, only to get trounced.
Martin is far, far removed from his All-Star days but he could be a serviceable third string big man on a Bucks team that’s ailing. They lost No. 2 overall pick and ROYT frontrunner Jabari Parker to a torn ACL, have center Larry Sanders dealing with flu-like symptoms, and Ersan Ilyasova getting over a concussion.
Of course, the question is: where will Martin fit in on a fully positioned team, sporting a full 15-man roster?
Not to mention that he hasn’t exactly been an ironman, playing in only 50 games since the 2011-2012 season ended. If the Bucks see him as an insurance plan, they might be due for an Anthony Bennett checkup. When he did play last season for the tanking Knicks, the 37-year-old averaged 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 32 games.
Again, it’s pretty undetermined how Martin would become a Buck, whether he has it in him to make an NBA roster anymore (he had previously worked out for Houston and Memphis to no avail), and whether Milwaukee will be the one to land him. Talk has the Cavs also interested in the power forward. And, god knows they need some sort of interior presence to stop their record from bleeding.
Both squads duke it out on Wednesday in what might turn out to be a symbol in the chase for Martin. Whether that chase has any real momentum behind it, or is even worth pursuing, might come down to Martin’s old pocket passer.
