NBA Rumors: Why the Los Angeles Clippers Are Best Spot for Kenyon Martin

With the majority of NBA Finals contenders vying for his services, Kenyon Martin has come back from China a happy camper.

But the 34 year old forward is running out of years. If he wants his best shot at a championship ring with some money thrown his way, he’ll sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Martin’s decision to sign with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China during the NBA lockout made him ineligible to play in an NBA game until February 15^th. ProBasketballTalk.com reports that he’s narrowed down his list of preferred teams to a select six. Lucky for him, the scales have tipped in his favor, but now he has a tough decision. Lets make it easier on K-Mart and go through the pros and cons of each contender. This process concludes with the Clippers, much like how the ending should be written for his free agent saga.

Miami Heat: They are this year’s benchmark of championship contenders and they’ve been stockpiling veteran players like Kenyon Martin the last two seasons. The Heat are a constant in the NBA rumor mill contenders, looking to provide their big three with enough support for not one, not two, but many title runs.

Unfortunately for K-Mart, the Miami Heat’s rotation is already set with a loaded frontcourt. With Martin in the fold, the Heat would not have enough minutes for the 6’9" power forward with Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem playing in crunch time. If you don’t think Anthony deserves his minutes, you haven’t been watching Heat basketball these past two seasons.

Also if cash is on Martin’s radar, the Heat cannot offer anything but the veteran’s minimum. When they decided to keep Mike Miller onboard (a good decision thus far), they knew they would be strapped for cash the rest of 2012. While I’m sure he would love to join the Heat’s talented roster, I don’t see a scenario in which K-Mart signs on the dotted line to go to South Beach.

San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs could offer Kenyon Martin the most money of his preferred teams, with their mid-level exception still unused from this offseason. Martin has always been paid well throughout his career, from his No. 1 pick rookie contract to a $40 million extension with Denver several years back.

While San Antonio could use another forward who plays tough inside, would Martin be able to be a part of the Spurs culture? Somehow I’m not buying Tim Duncan and K-Mart coexisting through a Spurs playoff run.

In addition, it has never been a Spurs' move to go for a risky veteran, they’d rather bring in a character guy (see Kurt Thomas in 2010) or entrust one of their bench players with more minutes (Gary Neal). I’m a little stunned the Spurs are still on Martin’s list. Maybe the Spurs are just that desperate this year to grab a quality big.

I am still not buying it.

Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta has had a hot start this season at 16-6, but its evident they’re still a step behind the class of the Eastern Conference.

They need more big bodies to compete with Miami and the Chicago Bulls in the East, so Martin would certainly have a large share of minutes. But if K-Mart really wants a shot at the title, he’d might as well find a way to go back to the Denver Nuggets than this Atlanta Hawks team. Their ceiling is a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, which is already wishful thinking.

This may be the one time in Martin’s career in which he gets the pick of the litter, so he’d be smart to go for all the marbles with a LeBron James, Chris Paul, or Tim Duncan rather than Joe Johnson.

New York Knicks : The Knicks also present an enticing option for Kenyon Martin, where he’d serve as a backup forward who would spell both Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler.

This Knicks team will take any pieces they can get for cheap, especially after starting the season below .500, but this 2012 campaign does not hinge on the quality of frontcourt play.

New York’s success down the stretch will be predicated on the back of Baron Davis (I can already feel the screws unhinging) and their offensive efficiency (finding a way to get the best games out of Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire on the court together).

If the wheels on the Knicks fall off towards the season’s end, K-Mart will regret coming to New York. There are simply too many risks in signing with the Knicks with more sure bets like the Los Angeles Clippers on the table.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clips have been rolling as of late and have surely caught the eye of Kenyon Martin. K-Mart would be a more than adequate presence on the back-line alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. He would bring intensity and a veteran presence to a Clipper bench that is short on playoff success.

The Clippers most pressing issue on the roster is frontcourt depth. The Clips currently are in the NBA’s bottom 10 in total rebounds and John Hollinger’s rebounding rate.

In their last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Clippers backed up starters Griffin and Jordan with Reggie Evans, Solomon Jones and Trey Thompkins. I just threw up in my mouth writing that list.

If K-Mart were to take his talents to Los Angeles, he would be reunited with his old Denver Nuggets teammate Chauncey Billups. They went to the Western Conference Finals together on that Denver team in 2010. Chris Paul will be a fantastic setup man to get K-Mart the ball in his favorite spots to score and everybody in the league wants to play with Blake Griffin right now (see Perkins, Kendrick).

Plain and simple, the Los Angeles Clippers give Kenyon Martin the best combination of playing time and a championship caliber roster to fit his needs.

Lob City needs a K-Mart. And K-Mart needs Lob City. Lets make a deal.