Kenyon Martin - NBA Free Agents who may be hired for more than they deserve (Part 1)
Although the lockout has wiped out the free agency market of 2011, but whenever it’ll take place after first work stoppage since 1998, it will definitely feature a bevy of skilful players ready to test their value in the free for
all market. This year’s free agency has big names like Tyson Chandler, Jamal Crawford Nene Hilario and there will be many teams that will be looking to land these stars in their line ups.
Back in 2010 summer free agency market, there were many teams that spend abundant funds to acquire role players. Some of these role players deserved the high salaries they got, as they’ve showed the capability to deliver the goods
that were expected from them and quite a few even exceeded expectations and helped their respective teams in winning many games.
However, the free agency market always include a group of role players that get paid really high for their services which in actuality they don’t deserve for different reasons. The best example in this regard is of the New Jersey
Nets, which hire Johan Petro in the previous free agency market and since then no one heard much about him.
The franchise owners that are fighting to put the hard salary cap clause in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement believe that they can bring the cost of the players and expenses down with this rule. However, in reality if the
franchises do not spend money wisely in the free agency market after the implementation of the hard salary cap, it would really disturb the financials of the teams and will cause a lot of mess.
So the best option for the teams is that they should quit the bid of a player that crosses the certain limit or which franchises believe is an over price for the player.
The list of the players that fall under the category of overpaid contracts may be signed in the free agency market of 2011 are as:
Kenyon Martin
There is no doubt about Kenyon Martin’s ability and the skill set that he possesses. With his past performances, Martin has proved what he can bring to the table. He is one of the toughest players on the hard wood going around
and his energy is unbeatable at times on both ends of the floor, when he is fully hale and hearty.
The guy is blessed with the gift of incredible athleticism and moreover he plays a solid defence and makes it really tough for the opposing players to score against him. Martin is well known for his energy and thrust that he brought
along with him, whenever he hits the court.
After reading so much praises for the player, readers must be wondering why he is in this category? The answer of this question lies in the first paragraph “when he is fully hale and hearty.” This explains a lot about the player
and this also tells the reason why he is a free agent and why his team didn’t show much interest in re-signing him.
Out of 82 games in the preceding regular-season, Martin was able to participate in only 48 games due to his fitness issues. Missing 34 games during a season means that Martin actually remained on the sidelines for almost half of
it. So far the veteran has played 11 seasons since he was drafted and during the last four stints, the highest number of games he has played in a single season is 70. Even though the teams knew about Martin’s fitness issues, still there will be franchises
that will be more than interested in landing him for high cash because of his experience and skills.
However, paying more cost for a player, who is doubtful to play a complete season, is a big risk as it can put the franchise in jeopardy if such player gets unfit during the season.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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