Nets, Nuggets Close To K-Mart Deal

[zanahale]

Looks like K-Mart is going to Denver after all.

K-Mart to get 7 years, $90M

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

After it looked as though talks between the teams had been extinguished, the Denver Nuggets are on the verge of completing a sign-and-trade with the New Jersey Nets for All-Star forward Kenyon Martin, league sources told ESPN.com.


The Nuggets, according to sources, have agreed to send at least three future first-round picks to the Nets, who will sign Martin to a seven-year deal worth just over $90 million and then ship him to Denver.


The trade, sources said, is likely to be completed Thursday. It's believed that no other players are involved in the trade.


Denver has been pursuing a sign-and-trade with New Jersey for days in hopes that it could avoid signing Martin, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet. But the talks stalled, with the Nets hoping to receive a power forward back from the Nuggets -- Nene, the burly Brazilian -- and the Nuggets hoping New Jersey would settle for a package featuring Nikoloz Tskitishvili and multiple draft picks.


Going the sign-and-trade route enables Denver to pay Martin for seven seasons instead of six, since only the Nets can sign Martin to a seven-year contract.


More importantly to the Nuggets, the sign-and-trade enables them to avoid tying up their free-agent funds for 15 days while New Jersey decided whether or not to match a Martin offer sheet. ESPN's David Aldridge reported Tuesday that the Nuggets, resigned to the fact that a deal seemed dead, were prepared to include a signing bonus worth at least $15 million in the maximum offer sheet they could extend to Martin -- a six-year package worth just over $82 million. Martin also received a similar offer sheet from the Atlanta Hawks.


If the Nuggets can complete the revived deal Thursday, they will have one of the deepest front lines in the league, with Martin slotting in at power forward between small forward Carmelo Anthony and center Marcus Camby. Or the Nuggets could elect to start Nene at center and bring Camby off the bench.


The trade would break up New Jersey's highly successful trio of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Martin, but the Nets -- with Jefferson headed soon for his own contract extension -- apparently prefer a package of good draft picks to the prospect of committing lucrative long-term deals to all three stars.

[EricaLubarsky]

It's really strange how the trade board, the around the nba forum, and the mavericks forums have have faded into one another.

[zanahale]

Erica, what are you implying?. This has nothing to do with a "Dallas" trade. It is stictly an fyi topic

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: zanahale
Erica, what are you implying?. This has nothing to do with a "Dallas" trade. It is stictly an fyi topic

Mavs general discussion usually involves everything related to the Dallas Mavericks.

It used to be that the trade thread had all the fantasy trades and all the reporting about trades including conjecture. When it was first instituted, it would house all trade threads until they were actualized.

Since this is an FYI, unlrelated to trade speculation and unrelated to the Mavericks it belongs in the "Around the NBA" section.

Is there any reason it should be in the General Mavs discussion board? We have the different boards for a reason.

Just an FYI

[zanahale]

yes, it involves the Mavericks because some of us were interested in him as a Maverick and I thought some of us would like to be informed to the fact that he obviously wont be another option for the Mavericks. (in a sign and trade)

[uberfan]

Here is how to make it a Mavs topic.

I wonder if NJ would trade one of the future #1 s to Dallas for Walker?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[MavKikiNYC]

Considering:

the Nuggets' trade for K-Mart,
the Jazz's FA signings--Boozer, Okur, Giricek
the Rockets' simultaneous acquisition of T-Mac and jettisoning of Franchise
the Lakers' loss of Shaq but acquisition of Odom, Butler, and Grant
the Suns' acquisition of Nash

the Mavericks' loss of Jamison and Nash


How might this project to affect the Mavs standings?

[grbh]

Martin is a great player, but not a terrible move for the Nets if they get 3 number 1s out of him. Particularly if they had no intention of maxing him out.

[uberfan]

Now watch the Nugz trade Skita to the Suns for Joe Johnson.

[Hitman]

So why didn't the Nets take Skita...I don't understand.

Jason Kidd must want out now, and quite frankly I would love him on the Mavericks.

[uberfan]

Sounds like the didn't want ANY salary back.

[Hitman]

The difference between the Nets in the Summer of 03

and the Nets in the Summer of 04?

The Nets in the Summer of 03 were owned by.....


George Steinbrenner.

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally posted by: grbh
Martin is a great player, but not a terrible move for the Nets if they get 3 number 1s out of him. Particularly if they had no intention of maxing him out.

I'd be interested to know the origin of those Number 1s--are they all Denver's picks? Or are they the picks of another team, owned by Denver?

Unless it's the latter, I don't necessarily agree that 3 #1s is equivalent value for Kenyon Martin.

With Martin, the Nuggets could easily challenge for a 6th, 5th, or perhaps even a 4th seed, meaning their own picks will probably fall mid-to-late teens. Players selected in that range are almost never impact players, and usually take at least 2-3 years to develop.

Martin, OTOH, was a former #1 pick in the entire draft, and had worked his way into being (arguably) a Top 5 power forward.

Hard to watch what appears to be happening to the NJ Nets right now--from Conference champ to bottom-feeder in 2 short years. Wonder if Kidd will actually become available.

[WoodyPaige4pres]

I'd be interested to know the origin of those Number 1s--are they all Denver's picks? Or are they the picks of another team, owned by Denver?

only one is actually Denver's. one of the others is from the Clippers. the other i forget. if you look on the updated story on espn.com, i'm sure they have the info.

[NBAGnome]

last pick is from philly.

[fabolous]

the nuggets have a really damn strong lineup now, and that scares me...
the rotation og camby, martin and nene is a dream... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

[MavKikiNYC]

Damn!...that Kiki plays hardball. Cubes shoulda kept that boy.

The limitations on the picks make them look less valuable---certainly in the short-term. Don't think the Nets got equal value for Martin at all.

Nets' Run Seems Over as Martin Is Traded
By STEVE POPPER

Published: July 16, 2004

It was the symbol of success during the Nets' three-year run of victories: Jason Kidd speeding up the middle of the court and lofting the basketball in the air, toward a spot above the rim, where Kenyon Martin would appear, high off the ground, to grab it and slam it through the rim with raw fury. The gasps of anticipation from the fans would turn to a collective shout as Martin cupped his ear to the crowd, prodding it to raise the volume a little more.

But that image is gone, and so, too, may be the Nets' hopes of continuing the most successful span in the team's often-beleaguered N.B.A. history. Signaling the end of its run as one of the league's premier teams, the Nets broke up the threesome of Kidd, Martin and Richard Jefferson by agreeing to a sign-and-trade deal yesterday that will send Martin to the Denver Nuggets.

The deal, which was announced last night, will send Martin to Denver for three future first-round draft picks - the Philadelphia 76ers' first-rounder, which cannot be immediately used if it is No. 1 through No. 8 next summer or No. 1 through No. 5 in 2006; a Los Angeles Clippers pick that cannot be immediately used if it is No. 1 through No. 14 next summer; and the Nuggets' own first-round pick, which cannot be used if it is No. 1 through No. 5 in the 2006 draft or Nos. 1 or 2 the next year. The picks are unprotected past those points.

What that all means is that at some point, the Nets will get to use the three draft picks. But the deal was never about the Nets wanting to stockpile draft picks for the future; instead it stemmed from the Nuggets' applying the hammer by extending an offer sheet to the 6-foot-9 Martin that simply overwhelmed the Nets. Because Martin was a restricted free agent, the Nets had the right to match whatever the Nuggets offered him and thus retain his services. And the Nets appeared willing to do so, except for the fact that the six-year, $83 million offer that the Nuggets extended to Martin earlier this week included a $23 million upfront payment that would have been due on July 29, along with a surplus payment of 15 percent of Martin's total contract if he were traded at any point. Those two provisions made the Nets blink.

The Nets took Martin with the first pick of the 2000 draft. In the course of four seasons, he developed into a versatile, hard-nosed forward who could rebound, block shots, run and score. His departure deals a huge blow to the Nets' hopes for the coming season, but it could help set up the team for a future that is not based in New Jersey. Bruce C. Ratner, who is about to be approved as the team's new owner, intends to move the Nets to a new downtown arena in Brooklyn within the next four to five years.

When the move is made, all those newly acquired draft picks will help give the team a drastically different look from the club that walked off the Detroit Pistons' court less than two months ago after losing Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But for now, Brooklyn is a concept, and the loss of Martin is a reality.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for our franchise,'' Rod Thorn, the Nets' president, said in a statement. "But I felt that the magnitude of the contract, both in its first year due to the signing bonus as well as over its duration, would seriously impair our ability to sign enough quality players. This core group of players has had an amazing run over the past few years, and we will work diligently toward once again competing for an N.B.A. title.''

Another reaction came from Jeff Schwartz, the agent for Kidd, who is rehabilitating from knee surgery earlier this month. "Jason is processing this now,'' Schwartz said. He said that Kidd thought the fans "can't be happy'' with the Martin trade, but that Kidd also had a lot of confidence in the ability of Thorn and Ed Stefanski, the team's general manager, to rebuild.

The Nets began preparations for this moment nearly a year ago when they turned down Martin's request for a six-year, $83 million contract extension, offering instead a $66 million package that Martin spurned.

Martin then went out and proved his worth with an All-Star season, playing well enough that the Nets began the off-season intending to do whatever it took to retain him. As late as Tuesday, there were indications throughout the organization that the team would match whatever Denver offered and that Ratner did not want to be viewed as someone who, upon taking over the team, immediately emphasized the bottom line over the team's record. But the numbers became troublesome.

The team still has the contracts of Dikembe Mutombo ($14 million) and Alonzo Mourning ($5.4 million) on the payroll for next season. Had Martin stayed, he would have cost perhaps $10 million in salary next season, and the huge bonus. If a possible luxury tax imposed by the league is factored in, the Nets were facing a $59 million payroll for nine players under contract and an additional payout of perhaps $45 million.

Less than two weeks ago, Ratner met with reporters in an effort to dispel stories that he was ordering cost-cutting within the Nets organization and that he would not allow the team to retain Martin. But a person with knowledge of the decision-making within the Nets' hierarchy said that Ratner and Thorn held discussions in the middle of this week in which they concluded that matching the Denver contract would create a salary-cap nightmare for the Nets.

In the end, neither dollars nor statistics really define Martin. If Kidd was the team's quiet leader, Martin provided the Nets' fire. And now the Nets have to find a way to replace it - and to deal with the anger of their fans.

[Poindexter Einstein]

Originally posted by: MavKikiNYC
I don't necessarily agree that 3 #1s is equivalent value for Kenyon Martin.

No one (including DEN and NJ) argue that the 3 #1s were equal value. NJ had already decided they were willing to let him go for NOTHING (since they didnt want his new salary). They found a way to get SOME value (with no salary cost attached, too) out of Denver instead of nothing.

[MavKikiNYC]

NJ had already decided they were willing to let him go for NOTHING (since they didnt want his new salary).

I'm not sure if that's correct. Media reports all along have suggested that they intended to match the Nugs' offer in terms of total amount, but the article below says that they decided to move him based on the structure of the deal (as oppposed to total contract value). So I'm thinking that they intended either to keep him, or to get something for him all along--not that they ever intended to let him walk.

Still wondering why they (Nets) weren't interested at all in Skita.

[Poindexter Einstein]

Though some articles could guess otherwise, NJ's actions say they were committed to LESS salary. Without Martin (or any salary coming back in a SNT), they are right at the Lux Tax cutoff. That huge difference (aka greed) drove their decision all the way. Skita would have added salary.

They publicly SAID "we will match" but I think it was a bluff, to get something cheap with value (as they did).

I believe that they wished to keep Martin, but their choice was stark: go over the LT for Martin, or take NONE and try to be under. Stashing Skita's $3M salary on their bench would have been contrary to the choice they made to try to get under. This was a money move all the way for NJ, not talent-based.

[MavKikiNYC]

Then is Kidd next?

Because they can't challenge with the current lineup, and Kidd is a huge outlay, with the real possibility of diminishing returns in 3-4 years. ... ... ... maybe sooner.