2012 Clipper Exit Interviews -- Kenyon Martin

This is the sixth of our Clips Nation "exit interviews" of the 2012 Los Angeles Clippers, an overview and analysis, player by player, of all 15 Clippers who finished the 2011-2012 season on the roster.

Name: Kenyon Martin

2011-2012 Key Stats: 5.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 BPG, 22.4 mpg

2012 Playoff Stats: 4.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 BPG, 17.5 mpg

Age: 34 (12/30/77)

Years in the NBA: 11

Years with the Clippers: 1

2011-2012 Salary: $2,500,000

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

In a Nutshell:

The NBA lockout and new CBA disputes may have caused a significant disruption to the season, however it would be hard to argue that the Clippers didn't benefit from all the turmoil caused. The team managed to land Chauncey off of the amnesty waiver wire for dirt cheap and leveraged Chauncey's presence to convince Kenyon (who likely wouldn't have been available had he not gone to China) to come to the Clippers.

It would be hard to imagine the Clippers doing as well as they did without Kenyon's toughness and leadership in the interior, especially considering DeAndre's poor performance post All Star break. Him and Reggie, essentially became the bash brothers, coming off the bench to bring the pain, the grit and the grind. Time and time again, Kenyon, Reggie and Eric Bledsoe came in to impose their will, played solid defense and provided a spark to bring the team back from a deficit.

Strengths:

Kenyon brought intensity and veteran leadership to this team. He plays solid all around defense, both team and man-to-man. He is always in the right position, has the foot speed to stay in front of most players in positions 3 to 5 and had toughness to bang down low. Despite being an older veteran, Kenyon still has his springs and is more athletic than a majority of the league, allowing him to contribute on offense by being an excellent finisher at the rim and on defense with weak side blocks (in the playoffs he looked like young Kenyon again, increasing from 1.0 blocks per game to 1.7 blocks).

Weaknesses:

Despite being a strong finisher, his offensive repertoire is relatively weak. Even though he had some big games and hit some key mid range jumpers in a few games, it isn't something a team wants to rely on considering he only shot 32.3% on anything outside of 10 feet. His intensity is an asset most of the time, but on some occasions it can boil over and affect his attitude.

Future with the Clippers:

It is unclear whether he will remain with the Clippers. I'm certain Chauncey was a major influence over Kenyon's decision to come to LA and it is unclear whether he's coming back. However, I'm not certain how much of an influence it will affect KMart going forward, considering the team still has CP3 and Blake Griffin. There's a little concern regarding his role going forward and if he is going to be content with coming off the bench. He didn't seem to like being pulled out of games in the playoffs and I can't imagine that getting any better any time soon. He isn't big enough to play center for extended minutes and he's definitely not going to be starting over Blake Griffin.