The 20 worst free agent signings in NBA history
By Cal Durrett
#10. Kenyon Martin: 7 years, $93 million
The 2000 NBA draft is widely considered to be one of the worst in NBA history and was headlined by Kenyon Martin. Martin isn’t a bust in the traditional sense since he made an All-Star team while in New Jersey, but he wasn’t all that impactful.
In 2004, Martin signed a 7-year, $93 million deal and was then traded to the Denver Nuggets. What followed was disappointment. His best season with the Nuggets proved to be his first, averaging 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds. Unfortunately, things didn’t get better. In the summer after his first season with the team, Martin had microfracture surgery, and it appeared to affect his superior athleticism and his production.
He never averaged more than 12.9 points in the remaining six seasons of his deal and often missed significant time with injuries, including in 2006–07, when he missed 80 games after needing microfracture surgery in his right knee.
Two major knee surgeries didn’t help Martin, and he simply failed to live up to expectations in Denver. After his contract was up, he bounced around from team to team but failed to make much of an impact. Overall, Martin thoroughly underwhelmed as a former number-one pick, and the Nuggets wildly overpaid him.