Kevin Martin was as curious as the Kings fans themselves to hear from Reggie Theus at the end of the season, so he picked up the local newspaper and read the sports page Thursday morning.
Yet when he saw the Kings' coach's proclamation that Ron Artest was the only one of his current players he could "throw the ball to" as an isolation scoring option late in games, curiosity turned to disbelief faster than the shooting guard can scoot down the Arco Arena floor.
"I cleared my mind, and I just laughed," Martin said by phone. "I feel like (we) have another player who can do that, but (he and Theus) are still cool. That's just how I feel about that."
That feeling, however, was strong indeed.
After finishing the season ranked sixth in the league in scoring (23.7 points per game) and receiving credit from Theus in recent weeks for his ability to be aggressive, Martin said he took exception to Theus' evaluation of his abilities.
"With the way I score in many different ways – attacking and shooting," Martin began. "And he says there's no other guy that can get the ball down the stretch, even though I proved when he put it in my hands that I can do it? Then I averaged 24 (points) on 15 shots? It's stuff like that. You have a two-guard who you can put (the ball) in his hands because he can change a game and score like the best in the league. Someday we'll realize that we have that."
It was an unwelcome postscript to the season that had ended in the most positive of ways. The Kings won 11 of their final 20 games while beating numerous playoff-caliber teams, with the strong finish in many ways tied to the improved working relationship between Martin and Theus.
In late February, Martin had privately fumed at the way in which he was used before he and Theus had a meeting in Dallas that turned it all around. Martin went on to have the best two months of his career, finishing as the league leader in free throws made per game (8.2) while shooting 40.2 percent from three-point range. And Theus, once again, had shown a knack for resolving issues with his players by repairing the situation. Now, this.
"You can say, 'Oh, he's not built for (late-game situations) mentally, or he's just soft,' or something like that," said Martin, "but if you watch the way I play, I'm not going to be flashy. I'm just going to get it done. I led the league in free throws made per game. There's nothing soft about that."
Theus' comments came in the context of Artest's future, as the small forward can opt out of his contract this summer and the Kings' coach was voicing his desire to keep him. But when asked at the media session if he saw Martin eventually becoming the kind of player he could rely on to score late in games, Theus explained himself further.
"I think Kevin is getting better," Theus said. "Kevin, at the end of the season, really grew. Is he a guy that you can throw the ball to yet? I don't think so. But he averages 20-plus points a game. You have to remember, Tim Duncan is the best player on the Spurs but he's not their leading scorer, so it's not always that way. Kevin, as he grows and as he gets better, will become that guy. He'll become that eventually, but it may be a couple of years."
Martin said his sentiments have everything to do with Theus and nothing to do with Artest. If nothing else, the notion that the small forward should stay with the Kings was the only point they agreed upon.
"I want to play with Ron for as long as we can throughout our career," Martin said. "I feel like we could have what (Denver's) Carmelo (Anthony) and A.I. (Allen Iverson) have. "There's not a better (small forward) that I would like to play beside than Ron, and I'm being real honest with you on that."
And, of course, everything else.
Read Sam Amick's Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
