I'm sure this has been asked plenty times before but this question sparks a recurring argument between me and my buds. I have heard many many complaints about Kevin Martin over the past year, especially on here. Yes he plays with little emotion and is not a great defender or much of a hustle gutty player. Yet he is the best scorer on the team, thus should start. He can drop 3's, has a nice jump shot, can drive to the basket, is a good finisher, and can get to the free throw line. I realize he is a defensive liability but in my eyes, his offensive contribution outweighs the his defensive woes. I also think team defense is more important then individual defense, so that can help him out a bit. Courtney Lee on the other hand has become a fan favorite do to his tenacious defense and explosiveness on offense. He is the definition of a 6th man spark player off the bench, and can get things rolling once the team is off to a slow start, but when he is playing starters minutes he can fade out in some quarters and often not keep up his level of play.
Lee is the fan favorite, but he is better suited to a backup role. We had a good thing going when Martin was healthy and Lee provided relief. That is, assuming, if Martin could get back to his 20 ppg, free throw shooting self.
C.Lee. Martin is a joke. Sure he is a good scorer when open but he can't create for himself, can't play defense, and has an awful attitude. I am sick of these types of players. If i had to pick one of the two i'll roll with Lee.
Situationally they have different uses. Lee needs to play against the Hardens and Wades of the league. Martin should be in against smaller guards that he can dominate with his height. As always, polls like this one do not capture the nuances of the situation.
Courtney Lee somethings better than Kevin Martin -- defense, explosiveness, and 3 point shooting. Though at best, he's a really good 6th man or decent starter who can be a glue type player. I doubt Courtney Lee will ever average over 14 ppg, he cannot be one of your top players. You could have a Kevin Martin as your 2nd to 4th best player and win alot of games. He'd be deadly efficient playing, next to players who can create or in a really good system. KM would be a very tough matchup playing, next to a player, like LeBron, Carmelo, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, or Rondo.
He asked which player you would rather have (not in any particular situation), pretty simple and direct question.
KMART all day. An offensively elite player who is showing some improvement on D. Too bad McHale does not play to his strengths.
Keep Lee, he's a winning player who can fit into whichever type of team we plan on putting together. If we have a stud 1/3, Lee is a great role-starter. If we don't have studs at those positions, we may need one at the 2 - in which case Lee makes a great backup. A guy who can defend well, bring athleticism, hit some shots and play smart ball is always welcome. Martin may be the superior individual player, but he needs certain types of players around him, and is a liability on one end; not to mention he's injury prone and high-maintenance.
Man, Courtney Lee killing the polls. Like I said Lee is a great 6th man of the bench, who is explosive and his a great motor and plays very well on the defensive side of the ball. Then again Kevin Martin is a guy who can get you 20 points night in and night out, and has the capability of going off for 30+ any given night. I don't think you get that with Courtney Lee, though Lee has proved himself to be a very serviceable role player. Hope both stay with the team.
Yeah, team's scoring difference when on the court. Couldn't find the season stats for that. Also Kevin has an efficiency rating of 13 and Lee has one of 10.
Personal Vote... C.Lee all day. K-Mart in this system is a 18PPG player which is not nearly enough to justify his defense. Guy is too good and established to want to come off the bench. Please trade one. If C.Lee is the starter and K-Mart is still on the roster there is going to be drama from day one. You really believe in McHale you got to get players that buy into his ideology/style of play. If not.. you might as well move on.
this is like his ninth year in the league. he's not showing improvement, he's showing that he only plays D when he feels like it, and on those rare occasions he's marginal at best.
Kmart and its not really close EDIT- IF we run an offense similar to RA's, then kmart all day. If kmac changes nothing and our offensive play is pnr all the time, then clee because it really won't make a difference and lee is cheaper. If kmart is in the right offensive system, then he is a very very good sg and scorer.
Kevin Martin completely disappears from the game when his shots aren't falling. Courtney Lee works hard on defense regardless of how he's playing on offense. I'd rather go with Courtney Lee.
