NBA Rumor: Kevin Martin Free Agency
29 rumors in this storyline
More Rumors in this Storyline
Kevin Martin retiring
Zanesville High School graduate Kevin Martin, closed out his professional basketball career last season with the Spurs. Martin announced his retirement and a generous donation with an advertisement in Thursday’s edition.
It read as follows: Thank you, thank you, thank you. There’s not a more perfect day for me to express those feelings. There are so many ways to announce your after professional career plans. My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go. Those were the toughest conversations that I have ever had but with the ultimate support I knew I was making the right decision. I was raised by two unbelievable parents, Marilyn and Kevin, that I owe the world to by preparing me to be a humble young man that could handle the responsibilities that came with being in the spotlight. A amazing little brother, Jonathan, that has taught me how to face any adversity head on and prevail. My grandparents, Maxine and Dallas, gave their first grandchild all the love and resources to focus on my ultimate unrealistic goal at the time throughout my childhood. Grandparents, Teena, Stanley, and John, I am thankful for the faith through prayers and love! And to all my family… Thank you all for instilling the most important attributes into my soul that I would have to rely on, on a daily basis. I love y’all so much! Last but most definitely not least… Now we all know I wouldn’t be writing this letter if I didn’t have the strongest of support systems that helped me through the toughest daily rigors that one could face for all those years. My wife, Jill Arnold, has been my greatest blessing and I couldn’t be more thankful to have a soulmate that changed her life to be there with such loyalty and dignity! Thank you, Tim and Joy Arnold, for raising such a beautiful woman. Jill has blessed our family with a new baby girl, Anna Capri, that has completed me.
The newest Spur went through his first shootaround with the team Thursday morning, then pronounced himself happy to be here. After spending the past three seasons in Minnesota, Kevin Martin was mostly happy to be someplace warm. “I remember when I played for Houston, you woke up and your body felt much better than it did in Minnesota,” Martin said. “The weather down here is so nice, so it’s good to be back in the South again.”
He chose to join the Spurs for one reason only. “I think you look at where you’re at in your career, when you’ve kind of been on a lot of teams where you’re a No. 1 option guy but you really don’t get to play until the end of May or early June,” Martin said. “So I think I just wanted to be with a championship pedigree. That was the ultimate No. 1 thing in my decision.”
The San Antonio Spurs have waived veteran Rasual Butler to create roster space for the signing of Kevin Martin. Martin committed to sign with the Spurs last week, but the franchise labored over the decision to release Butler or Matt Bonner, league sources told The Vertical.
Bonner’s chemistry with Spurs veterans, including Tim Duncan, factored into the decision to keep him. Bonner, 35, has played 10 of his 12 NBA seasons with the Spurs.
The Spurs waited until Wednesday to inform Butler of the decision because coach Gregg Popovich missed the team’s two-game road trip that ended Tuesday night, sources said. The Spurs always have either Popovich or general manager R.C. Buford tell a player in person that he’s been let go, sources said.
Shams Charania: The San Antonio Spurs have waived Rasual Butler to create space for Kevin Martin, league sources tell The Vertical.
Tom Orsborn: No roster moves. Rasual Butler still here. #Spurs
The Spurs will have to waive a player to make room for Kevin Martin. As off Monday morning, the club’s roster remained intact, a team spokesman said.
Spurs adding Kevin Martin
Marc Stein: Free agent guard Kevin Martin has agreed to join the San Antonio Spurs, according to league sources
Eddie Sefko: No indication Mavericks are hotly pursuing Martin. But he has size they lack off the bench in the backcourt. But whose minutes would he get?
Sources say the Spurs have made a particularly strong pitch to Martin, whose agent, Dan Fegan, had to negotiate a complicated settlement of the player option on Martin’s contract that was scheduled to pay him $7.4 million next season.
Jeff McDonald: Dallas is the other possible team I’ve heard.
So I would think that Chris Copeland could be a consideration, as could Kevin Martin. And I would not rule out another point guard, because I think it would be difficult to survive any game that Goran Dragic might have to miss. Even on Saturday, you could see why Erik Spoelstra had to stay with Dragic even after Goran was called for his fourth foul in the third period.
The San Antonio Spurs have emerged as strong contenders to sign Kevin Martin if the veteran shooting guard secures his expected buyout from the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to league sources. Sources said Saturday that the Spurs have made the strongest pitch so far among the various playoff contenders chasing Martin, who has been in advanced negotiations on a contract buyout with Minnesota. Martin and the Timberwolves have until midnight (ET) on Tuesday to part ways in order for Martin to be playoff eligible for his next team.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, sources say, are also among the known suitors for the 12-year veteran, who has averaged 17.6 points in 30.5 minutes per game in his career.
Kevin Martin San Antonio bound?
Darren Wolfson: Also, no Kevin Martin buyout yet, but add the Rockets among the interested teams. #twolves
Chris Fedor: For what #Cavs are offering in terms of playing time/role, Kevin Martin has always been the more logical “fit,” as I said on radio all week
Ryan Stiver: What the chances Cavs will sign Joe Johnson or Kevin Martin? – Steve Kyler: Joe Johnson looks headed to Miami… Kevin Martin a real possibility in Cleveland.
Kevin Martin on Mavs' radar?
The Mavs will have interest in Kevin Martin if he receives a buyout, sources said, but he is likely to land with a team that has a better chance of contending. A source named the Cavs, Heat, Hawks and Thunder as suitors for Martin, depending on Joe Johnson’s decision.
Wolves, Kevin Martin finalizing buyout
June 1, 2023 | 10:36 am EDT Update
Payton Pritchard has made it clear he hopes to be traded this offseason
With the new onerous CBA rules looming after next season, the front office will likely have to decide in the next 12 months whether it can afford its expensive veteran depth. Payton Pritchard has made it clear he hopes to be traded this summer, according to multiple team sources, so will the Celtics move him if they trade one of their core guards? Then there is the coaching staff, which is widely expected to add a veteran with head coaching experience at the very least. Some of Udoka’s hires, such as Ben Sullivan and Miles, will likely be recruited by Udoka and the Houston Rockets, but sources told The Athletic it’s too early in the process to know what will happen.
After the All-Star Game, one Celtics source believed some of the team’s best players “just lost focus.” While going 7-6 coming out of the break, Tatum, Marcus Smart and Horford all had negative net ratings, meaning the team was outscored when each of them were on the court. The Celtics’ defense was ripped apart with the starters in the lineup, a revealing development for a team so capable of shutting down opponents.
With the season on the line following a 128-102 Game 3 loss to the eighth-seed Heat, Grousbeck came in hot. After Grant Williams asked everyone to clear the room so the players could have some space, Grousbeck went off. His message to the effect that he has been building this franchise for over 20 years and the players need to play with some balls left the locker room stunned, several team sources who were in the room told The Athletic. The sources were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record. “(Grousbeck) was right, but we shouldn’t need that,” Blake Griffin told The Athletic. “As soon as we got to the locker room, we were just so frustrated.”
In addition to the players who credited Udoka for their drastic turnaround and Finals berth one season ago, several Celtics assistants considered Udoka a close friend and joined the staff specifically to work for him. When Boston elevated Mazzulla, not even a front-row assistant last season, sources around the team said it could have created a divide between him and the other coaches with more experience and loyalty to Udoka. There was initially an “awkwardness” according to several members of the coaching staff, but Mazzulla worked to establish a culture of open communication and trust.
Beyond Udoka, the Celtics staff faced a depletion of talent that raised the difficulty of Mazzulla’s job. Will Hardy took over as Utah Jazz head coach in June and turned them into one of the NBA’s biggest surprises. Multiple team sources both on the roster and the staff said Stoudamire’s departure to lead Georgia Tech in March left a significant void in the team’s leadership structure. He was known for having a good feel for when and how to talk to players, understand their motivations, and pull from his own experiences when making recommendations for how the team should operate.
“It’s not like Damon had a certain power, but players really respected him,” said one team source. “Joe used Damon to have a guy that’s been here that’s played that can speak to them. Damon could speak their language and no one else on the staff can do (it).”
As the coaching staff and players prepared for Mazzulla to take over, the looming question was whether this was his team or whether Udoka would still be involved, multiple team sources told The Athletic. Eventually, it was clear Mazzulla was in charge.
