NBA Trade Deadline 2015: Saunders Says No Martin Trade
Feb 11, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kevin Martin (23) looks on during the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Target Center. The Warriors won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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When I wrote the Minnesota Timberwolves trade deadline preview a few days ago, one name I did not mention as a possible candidate to be moved was Kevin Martin.
If Flip Saunders is to be believed, that was a correct omission.
According to Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Saunders has decided Martin is too valuable to move. Saunders differentiated Martin from traded veterans Corey Brewer and Mo Williams by saying this:
"“Those two guys were not starters when the season started. From our perspective, I have a lot of value in Kevin and what he can do, and how he can help (Andrew) Wiggins and the other guys.”"
I tend to agree with this line of logic. The Wolves are no doubt going through (yet another) rebuilding project and with that comes a youth movement. It just does not seem like a good idea to me to only have a couple of veterans then nothing but rookies and second year guys. They need to learn from someone and have more help along side them on the court. Besides that, Martin is their best and most consistent scorer. Wiggins is getting better and better but he does not have the night in, night out scoring acumen to carry the team yet.
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The other thing is, Martin is under contract for two more seasons after this one for $7 million per year. While $7 million sounds like a lot of money to you or me it is actually pretty decent value for a scorer of Martin’s caliber.
To me, the time it would make sense to trade Martin would not be now but could come in a couple of years. If the Wolves are out of the playoff hunt again in February 2017 and Martin still has value, the Wolves would be smart to look at moving him in that scenario. On the other hand, even in that scenario hanging on to him will make the most sense if value of his expiring contract is greater than the value of what they could get back in a trade.
Wow, I’m getting way ahead of myself. This was all a very long-winded way of saying that I agree with Flip on his stance on Martin.
Do you?