What a dreamer. He doesn't deserve the max. If it wasn't for kidd he'll be just a bo outlaw type of player.
I wouldn't go that far, but I think it's safe to say that Kenyon wouldn't be as well off without Jason Kidd feeding him every night.
Clearly you never never saw Kenyon Martin's absolute domination in college without Jason Kidd on his team...clearly you missed the last year where Martin was the only viable offensive weapon the Nets had in the half-court...
Ben, your "he did well in college" point is about as well thought-out as a Scott Layden trade; remember how dominating Ed O'Bannon was in college? He can't even find work as a 12th man now. (And that's just one example where NCAA honors shouldn't translate to maximum contract for NBA players.) Secondly, Martin wasn't the most viable weapon in New Jersey's half-court; he wasn't even their leading scorer, nor did he lead the team in FG%.
...and we'll ignore the fact that it's Eddie Jordan that focused Martin's anger and polished him into the deadliest Power Forward in the Eastern Conference, not Jason Kidd...
Well, we'll see how he does this year, now that Eddie Jordan left town to coach the Wizards. My guess is, he'll do just fine, other factors nonwithstanding. But can you really call him "the deadliest Power Forward [sic] in the Eastern Conference?" Lest you forget, Kenyon Martin's
never made an All-Star team. I think he's a damn good player, but he's not even an All-Star -- in the power forward bereft East -- so, how could you justify giving him a max deal?
I'd rather have Martin than O'Neal personally...O'Neal (and Sheed) hasn't shown the ability to take over like Martin does...
Just like he "took over" in the Finals this year? Against San Antonio, Martin shot 34% when his team needed him the most, though admittedly, he was sick for one of those games. I don't mean to knock him, because I really like his game, but I just can't agree with you here. You say O'Neal hasn't shown he can "take over," yet his numbers in the playoffs are improvements over his regular season statistics. He averaged 22.8 PPG and a monster 17.5 RPG in the playoffs, so I think he's more deserving than you think, and certainly more deserving than Kenyon Martin.