The Knicks, in need of some frontcourt help due to injuries to Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby, have turned to free agent big man Kenyon Martin, who agreed to a 10-day contract with the team according to Yahoo!.
Martin was last seen averaging five points and four rebounds in 22 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, but report surfaced that Martin was less than cooperative at times with Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.
Knicks head coach Mike Woodson, however has plenty of experience dealing with malcontent players such as Josh Smith in Atlanta. More recently, he has been able to convince Carmelo Anthony to buy into his defensive scheme and harness J.R. Smith and his explosive capabilities into a weapon rather than an erratic chucker.
After a hot start highlighted by stellar 3-point shooting and inspired defense the Knicks have played .500 ball over the last month, and their defense has dipped significantly since offensive-minded forward/center Amar'e Stoudemire returned to action. With Camby and Wallace out indefinitely, the Knicks have turned to Martin to add rebounding, shot-blocking, and defensive intensity to the club. For his career, Martin has averaged seven rebounds and one block per game.
Despite his reputation for being a headache, Martin told Yahoo! that he was open to signing with any team in any role. Martin, who had played for the New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets before his brief stint with the Clippers is familiar with several of the Knicks key cogs. He played with Jason Kidd on the New Jersey Nets, who drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2000 draft. With Kidd and Martin the Nets reached the NBA Finals twice, but were not able to win a title. In Denver, Martin played with Anthony, Smith, and Camby.
The Knicks dealt swingman Ronnie Brewer to the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday for a future second-round pick in order to clear a roster spot for Martin. Brewer became expendable after Iman Shumpert returned from a torn ACL.
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