Report: Kenyon Martin Considering Nets, Lakers

Kenyon Martin has bounced around the League (and the world) the last couple of years, going from Denver to China and then to the Clippers in 2012. Martin is a free agent once again this offseason, hoping to find a home and some consistent playing time after helping the Clippers reach the second round of the playoffs. Now it seems Martin has narrowed his choices down two, with only the Lakers and Nets in the mix. Here’s more from SI‘s Sam Amick:

“Kenyon Martin, meanwhile, isn’t so lucky. The 12-year veteran was a key reserve for the Clippers, his impact going way beyond his marginal numbers (5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds) for a team that reached the second round of the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. But sources said the 34-year-old power forward is holding up this later stage of the hiring process for frontcourt free agents, with the Lakers and the Nets among the teams he’s considering and negotiation leverage seemingly gone because so many of his colleagues seem willing to take minimum deals.”

The Golden State Warriors were apparently also in contention for Martin’s services, but they opted to go in a different direction, re-signing Brandon Rush and inking Carl Landry to a two-year, $8 million deal. So the 34-year-old Martin is looking elsewhere, and can and will still make an impact, especially on contending teams like the Nets and Lakers, where his role will be limited to rebounding and defense – two of his specialities.

Martin’s free agency is particularly interesting, if only because of the domino-type effect of free agency. First, we saw it with Deron Williams and Steve Nash – as soon as they signed with Brooklyn and Los Angeles, respectively, other teams’ plans changed and the future of second-tier point guards began to unfold. While Martin may not be that caliber of player anymore, his lengthy free agency is holding up the contracts of others veteran bigs, including Joel Przybilla and Jermaine O’Neal.