Denver Nuggets power forward Kenyon Lee Martin headed to China : NBA Rumour
Despite of the restriction by the Chinese Basketball Association of including the out-clause option in the contracts of the NBA players, the Chinese teams are still busy making offers to the NBA players.
Recently, a couple of teams from CBA have showed great interest in Denver Nuggets superstar Kenyon Lee Martin. This move comes after Zhejiang Guangsha signed Nuggets free agent Wilson Chandler and another team is very close singing
Denver’s guard J.R Smith.
There have been reports on the Chinese TV Chanels that Denver Nuggets power forward Martin might play in China with the NBA lockout issue still at a standstill. Among the teams that are striving to land the NBA superstar, it is
reported that Xinjiang Flying Tigers is in serious talks with Kenyon. If the deal does go through, it will make Martin the highest paid player in the history of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Initially, J.R. Smith was associated with the highest-offer deal which will give him 3 million dollars in one year upon signing a contract with the Chinese team. However, recent reports suggest that the 33-year-old Kenyon Martin
has received an offer of more than 3 million dollars.
If Smith and Martin make an agreement with the respective teams, they will not only join their teammate Wilson Chandler in China, the trio won’t be able to come back and play the NBA season until the CBA’s season ends which will
be in the mid of March next year.
Martin, who was picked by the New Jersey Nets with the first overall pick during the 2000 NBA Draft, joined Denver Nuggets after the 2003-2004 season in which he posted a career-high 16.7 points per game. From there, Kenyon Martin
soon became a cornerstone of the team and led the Nuggets’ line-up in the next seven seasons impressively.
However, during the last season in Nuggets’ uniform, Martin posted the lowest performance of his career in which he averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The sudden decline in Martin’s performance was a result of elongated
injuries which forced him to miss 34 games in the 2010-2011 regular season. The age factor is another reason that has hampered the All-Star to continue the action with the same agility and strength.
Despite his struggles last season, Kenyon Martin still has a couple of good years left in his basketball career and he can definitely turn on the heat in China if he decides to play overseas. With no progress made whatsoever in
NBA to finish the lockout, Martin’s decision to play in China can be expected very soon.
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