Kenyon Martin to the Los Angeles Clippers: Does K-Mart Really Make Them Better?

Lob City just got a little bit more dangerous, with the Clippers signing power forward Kenyon Martin to a free-agent deal.

So we're immediately faced with the question of whether or not signing K-Mart to an already solid Clippers roster actually makes them a better team.

The initial thought is that yes, hands down, adding Martin makes the Clippers a better overall team, adding both depth at the power forward position and a solid defensive presence coming off of the bench.  

But when you stop and analyze the free-agent acquisition a little deeper, it's not that cut-and-dry.

The first issue with the acquisition of Kenyon Martin is that the Clippers aren't necessarily struggling as a team. With a solid 13-7 record, it makes you question why the Clippers feel the need to create waves with a roster that is working relatively well.

One of the main reasons why the Clippers signed Martin is to add some increased offensive production at the power forward position when Blake Griffin is on the bench.  

Currently, the Clippers have Reggie Evans coming off the bench for Griffin, averaging 1.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in just 15 minutes per game, which isn't lighting the world on fire, but he's not really holding the Clippers back either.

Evans brings a tenacity on the boards, and a defensive toughness that's helped the Clippers get to where they are right now, first in the Pacific Division, which isn't a bad place to be.

K-Mart definitely brings more offensive polish to the court than Evans ever will, but I argue that the Clippers don't need more offensive production, as evidenced by their 99.0 points per game average, which ranks fourth in the NBA.

While you can argue that the Clippers need to be better defensively, adding Martin isn't a ridiculous upgrade over Evans.  Martin is considered a legitimate defensive talent, but he's never earned any NBA All-Defensive team honors and in more minutes per game than Reggie Evans,  he averages less production on the glass.

I'm not saying that Reggie Evans is a better player than Martin, or that the Clippers made a mistake by signing Kenyon Martin, but one has to question the legitimacy of messing with a roster that's already doing pretty well a third of the way through a shortened NBA season.

Kenyon Martin is undoubtedly an upgrade over Reggie Evans, and he can even play some time replacing DeAndre Jordan at the center position as well, but that doesn't mean his presence alone is going to make the Clippers the front-runner for the 2012 NBA Title.

As we've learned throughout the years, winning NBA championships comes through building team chemistry, not by simply adding a ridiculous amount of talent to an NBA roster. (Yes, I'm looking at you Miami.)

Will adding Kenyon Martin mess up an already solid Clippers rotation, or will it be what the Clippers need to become a legitimate contender in a deep Western Conference?  Weigh in with your opinion in the comments section below.