The Clippers and Kenyon Martin have reached an agreement on a contract, reports Mike James of the Los Angeles Times. The Clippers will use their $2.5MM room exception to sign Martin, finalizing the deal after he passes a physical.
Earlier today, we heard that CBA officials were fighting to reverse the letter of clearance FIBA awarded Martin. The 34-year-old's contract had stipulated that he couldn't sign and play with an NBA team until the end of the Chinese season, but the international basketball federation decided to clear Martin yesterday. For now it appears the power forward will be able to join the Clippers once his new contract becomes official, though Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets that the CBA will still try to delay his debut.
The Heat, Hawks, Spurs, Knicks, and Lakers also had interest in signing Martin, who should see consistent minutes behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in the Clippers' frontcourt. Chauncey Billups, Martin's former teammate in Denver, played a large role in getting his friend to Los Angeles.
"If the Clippers end up getting him, Chauncey should get all the credit," a source told Ramona Sherbourne of ESPNLos Angeles.com yesterday. "Chauncey has been the guy talking to him."