Los Angeles Clippers a Perfect Destination for Kenyon Martin

Former New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is sort of stuck between two different worlds right now. He signed up to play in China during the lockout, wants to return to the NBA, but isn't able to until his Chinese team's season ends.

When Martin is free to return, however, there will be interested parties. ESPN's Chris Broussard revealed on Friday that there are five in particular.

Per Broussard, league sources have it on good authority that the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are all pursuing Martin, a former All-Star.

The tricky part is when these teams will be able to sign Martin. The earliest he is eligible to sign is Feb. 16, but his signing will be delayed if his team, the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, makes the playoffs.

Luckily, Broussard says that Xinjiang is currently out of the playoffs.

When Martin does return, a source says he's looking to join a contender on which he'll have a "sizeable" role.

The Clippers are the only team he should consider.

Martin certainly wouldn't be able to start on the Clippers. At last check, they still have Blake Griffin, and he's still pretty good. If Martin were to join the Clippers, he would have to settle for being Griffin's backup.

That's not a bad thing, though. Griffin is playing roughly 37 minutes a night, and the Clippers simply haven't gotten enough production out of Reggie Evans and Brian Cook. Not compared to what Martin could offer, anyway.

Martin is well past his prime, but he can still score, rebound and play defense. He's also always been an energetic player, and his energy would be a valuable asset coming off the bench.

Broussard points out that the Clippers and Knicks are in a better position to sign Martin than the other three teams in the hunt, as they can offer him the $2.5 million mini-midlevel exception. San Antonio and Atlanta have to worry about the luxury tax, and Miami can only offer the veteran's minimum, which is $1 million less than the mini-midlevel exception.

If it comes down to a choice between the Clippers and Knicks, the Clippers would be an even bigger no-brainer. Things are pretty ugly in Knick-land, and they're not likely to get better any time soon. The Knicks are a mess.

The Clippers have their flaws, but they're not a mess. They're a good team that just needs a little something to push them over the edge.

Martin might just be that something. That should appeal to them, and it should appeal to him.