Kenyon Martin, once the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, is wondering why no team wants him.
At 34, Martin said he still has enough game left to help someone.
“There is a notion about me that is not accurate at all – I don’t know who started it or where it came from – that people can’t control me,” Martin told Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t understand. Have I had my issues like a lot of other people? Yeah. But I’m getting back that people think they can’t control me, that if I don’t play I’m going to explode, or I can turn a locker room.
“In 12 years there was not one day where I told one guy to dislike anybody. If you ask guys who I’ve played with that know me, they know what it is and know I’m about winning basketball games and competing.”
Martin came off the bench to average 5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 22.2 minutes in 42 games with the Clippers while backing up Blake Griffin last season. The Clippers didn’t attempt to re-sign Martin in the off-season. The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs expressed interest at the start of free agency, sources said, but no NBA team has offered a contract – even a non-guaranteed deal – to Martin.
“If someone calls me tomorrow, I don’t care who it is, whether it’s losing or winning at this point,” Martin said. “If someone calls me tomorrow and wants me to come in, I’m going. Guys are going down and [teams] are like, ‘Well, we are going to stick with what we got.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ I started questioning myself, ‘Am I that bad of a guy?’ ”
Martin wonders if his reputation as an emotional player who has been known to speak his mind is being held against him.
“Am I emotional? Yeah, but that’s what made me who I am,” Martin said. “Is that too much or did I not do enough? Do I have my flaws? Yes. But have I done things the right way on and off the court? Yeah.”
