Photo by zarrsadus on Flickr

 

A third free agent who played for the Nuggets last year is in serious talks to play in China.

Kenyon Martin has received significant interest from two professional teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, which would make him the highest-paid player in the history of that league, a source said today.

Via Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin might play in China, 9/9/11

Noam Schiller already touched on the fact that Denver is in a “battle against free agency.” As a fan of the post-Melo group that stormed through the entire league after the trade deadline, I’m a little bummed out. It’s not that I didn’t know this franchise would have to make some tough decisions this off-season, but it’s unsettling knowing that the Nuggets’ prospects for 2011-2012 might look radically different by the time they’re allowed to begin negotiating with their still-stateside free agents.

I loved the way the post-deadline Nuggets played in transition. I loved the way they forced turnovers. It was fascinating to watch an elite offense stacked with talent but without a go-to scorer. I liked how Wilson Chandler played a lot of 2 but found himself at the 4 occasionally, enjoyed the contrast between Arron Afflalo and J.R. Smith. Ty Lawson and Ray Felton were a fun point guard  combo, complementing one another more effectively than anyone could have predicted. They had depth at every position, reminding me of Hubie Brown’s Grizzlies teams, except better.

Now, Felton is gone, replaced by Andre Miller. The 35-year-old is a fine player, but if Felton was to be dealt I hoped it would be for a non-point guard so Lawson could emerge as a clear-cut #1 PG for the first time. Chandler is gone, at least for this season (if there is one). And if J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin are BOTH gone? This would still be a team with some talent, but it would suddenly lack depth and, sadly, an identity.

Perhaps this was inevitable. Last season, Denver’s depth was its identity. You’d hate to gameplan against those Nuggets because they had so many weapons. On the other side of the floor, George Karl had the luxury of tremendous defensive versatility, in terms of having individuals who could guard multiple positions and having the ability to go big or go small without sacrificing anything. This is what made the team so unique and so captivating, but it may have been unsustainable because of the sheer number of players that were required to make it work.

Hate to say it, but losing Chandler, Smith, and Martin to the CBA would make it more difficult to sell Nene on re-signing. It’d make the Arron Afflalo restricted free agency situation a lot trickier if another team comes forward with a big offer, too. I’m as pumped as the next guy for Jordan Hamilton and Kenneth Faried… Er, let’s be honest: I’m probably significantly more pumped than the next guy for Jordan Hamilton and Kenneth Faried… but I really dug the team that fell to the Thunder. It feels like three months wasn’t nearly enough, but I guess it’ll have to be.