Kenyon Martin's name is one of the most prominent remaining on our list of free agents, and he still believes he's worth the mini mid-level exception, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. It's unclear whether Zwerling is referring to the $3.09MM taxpayer's mid-level exception or the $2.575MM room exception. Martin's preference is to play for a championship contender, as Zwerling also notes.
Martin's agent, Andy Miller, indicated his client was conditionally open to playing for the veteran's minimum in September, saying he would do so in a "comfortable team role." It seemed he was on the verge of signing with the Knicks right before training camp, and went so far as to take a physical for the team, but no deal ever materialized. The Knicks instead turned to Rasheed Wallace, who made the opening-night roster after inking a non-guaranteed minimum salary deal. Martin also drew interest from a team in Israel, but turned down its offer of $900K.
It seems as if Martin, who turns 35 in December, is willing to wait for injuries and other matters to arise that would put a team in greater need for his services. Still, he might be asking a bit much for a deal around $3MM in the middle of the season, especially since Martin averaged career lows in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage last season.