On Friday, the Atlanta Hawks came up empty in their search for a low-cost stop-gap replacement for injured All-Star Al Horford, as former Denver Nuggets PF Kenyon Martin agreed to a contract with the LA Clippers instead of the Hawks.
Martin, a 34-year old 6'9 240 PF, had been playing in the Chinese Basketball Association during the lockout and was supposed to be ineligible to play until the CBA's regular season ended in March. However, the NBA agreed to lift Martin's ineligibility, something the CBA is reportedly still fighting, as there are three more former NBA players -- JR Smith, Wilson Chandler and Aaron Brooks -- playing in China who are undoubtedly itching to jump back across the Pacific Ocean.
While Martin has long since lost the explosiveness that made him an All-Star in the early 2000's, he's still a live body defensively as well as an excellent passer and interior scorer, and he would have provided a huge lift off the bench for Atlanta.
In 48 games with the Nuggets last year, the University of Cincinnati product averaged 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 51.1% shooting.