Kenyon Martin Will Reportedly Make LA Clippers Debut vs. Cavaliers

The LA Clippers lost one big piece of their team in Chauncey Billups, but will gain another tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

LA Times beat writer Brad Turner tweeted that Kenyon Martin will make his regular season debut as a member of the Clippers Wednesday night. 

Martin was recently acquired by the Clippers after being granted an early release by FIBA from his contract with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

What It Means

The Clippers were in dire need of some good news. They are only a couple days away from the game that ended Chauncey Billups' season. 

Guard Randy Foye will more than likely continue on as the starter next to Chris Paul with Ryan Gomes getting extensive minutes off of the bench. 

As for Martin, he will be of great help in alleviating some of the burden off Blake Griffin. Martin will get key minutes behind Griffin at the 4-position, and will be an amazing asset when the two are on the court together. 

Martin is the perfect player to run with an uptempo and dynamic team like the Clippers. It will take some time, but Martin should begin to gel quickly with this squad. 

What's Next?

The key now is to incorporate Martin as quickly as possible. He will have to learn on the job and will no doubt be fine doing just that. 

The Clippers will look for help in the form of a solid guard that can go alongside Chris Paul for the playoff push. 

There is this CBS Sports report from Monday that had JR Smith in the Clippers' sights. If they were flirting with bringing in a former teammate of Martin's before, they are surely still enamored with the idea now. 

Smith will have to wait until the season ends in the Chinese Basketball Association before coming stateside. Until that time, all we can do is speculate where the Clippers' intentions may lie. 

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