[Citizen-Times] Martin preparing for contract year

[rquoter]ASHEVILLE — Kevin Martin has absolutely no way to identify with all the media frenzy that surrounds his newest Houston Rockets’ teammate.

Though Martin led all of NCAA Division I in scoring average for much of his final season at Western Carolina (2003-04) — and though he’s been his NBA team’s top point producer the past six years — he’s barely generated a blip on the radar compared with the national hubbub generated by Jeremy Lin’s successful, if brief, stint with the New York Knicks.

And that’s just fine by the former Catamount, drafted in the first round by the Sacramento Kings in 2004 .

“I think my whole career in basketball, I’m going to be that under-hyped, underestimated, however you want to put it, type of guy,” Martin said in a telephone interview earlier this week. “Coming from where I came from (Zanesville, Ohio), having only one real college offer and going to a small Division I school and having to work my way up the ranks. Then when I get to the NBA, I wasn’t even on the draft boards. Then getting drafted and coming into the league, (people said) ‘He’ll be out of the league in two years.’ And then having a good year and getting the contract extension, (people said) ‘He won’t play well. He’s not worth that.’ So, for me, it’s just going to be that way.

“I kind of embrace it because that’s where I come from. I never need to be hyped up or anything,” Martin said. “I’m not in the game for that.”

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Martin, who’s entering the final season on a five-year, $55 million contract extension he signed in 2007, said it’s no surprise the spotlight found Lin, and he’s pleased the gifted young point guard is bringing his skills to Houston.

“It’s a good pick-up for us,” said Martin, who was traded from Sacramento in February, 2010. “We lost both our starting point guards. I know he only started 25 games and he’s only 23, so he’s got a lot of things to learn. I think coach (Kevin) McHale will teach him some good stuff. He should know they’re all embracing him, so he should be excited about his new opportunity.”

“(The media publicity) comes from playing in New York,” Martin said. “He has a lot of followers. He has a lot of pressure to live up to. Hopefully, he’s in the gym working hard right now preparing for the season because he’s going to be a scouted player now.”

Martin also had a wild ride last season, though for vastly different reasons. Houston agreed to trade him to New Orleans as part of a three-way deal to get Pau Gasol before the league nixed the swap.

He then spent the year adjusting to a new coach (Kevin McHale) before a shoulder injury effectively ended his season. He started 40 games and averaged 17.1 points — a team-high but his lowest since his second season (10.8 in 2005-06).

“It was a good experience for my career in the long run,” Martin said. “The last five or six years had gone pretty smooth, and you need times like that in your career to make you a better player going forward. With the lockout and the coaching change, everything was just so different last year.”

Now 29 and going into a contract year, Martin has been a frequent topic of online trade-rumor mills.

His response? Rather than taking a summer vacation, he’s elected to spend the offseason enduring grueling workouts under the supervision of David Thorpe — the same personal coach he first met after his freshman year at Western Carolina.

“Normally, when you’re closing in on 30, they say you’re moving past your prime,” Thorpe said. “But I’ve always suggested that Kevin’s body is about three years behind his chronological age. It’s just a very late-blooming body. To me, he’s 26 or 27 right now. If you saw him work out, you’d say he looks like he’s 25. He’s jumping as high as he’s ever jumped. His quickness and speed are great. His conditioning is great. Over the years, he’s kind of honed his body.

“I think he’s primed to have a huge year, if not his best year, it just depends on where he’s going to be.”

Asked if he would like to be traded before this season, Martin said the Rockets “know where we stand, so we’re just going to work hard, and wherever I’m at, I’m just going to be the best player I can be — still be one of the top shooters in this league.

“I think any team that gives you an opportunity to play in the NBA, you have to take that blessing and thank them,” Martin said. “I know we’re about to enter a rebuilding mode, that’s what it looks like. That can be tough sometimes, but I just have to be a positive influence to the young guys. I don’t know what my future holds because I have one more year left. I’m sure I’ll have some decisions to make.”[/rquoter]