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BRADENTON, Fla. – It's not easy being the best player on the worst team in the league.It's why Sacramento guard Kevin Martin is wearing blinders this summer -- looking only straight ahead.
"All the losing is tough -- it wears on you -- but this time of year I try not to worry about things I don't control,'' he said. "What I can control is that I can become a better player every summer by working at it.''
Martin, going into his sixth NBA season, has grown into one of the better shooting guards in the Western Conference, a borderline All-Star, but he spent much of last season as the King's punching bag, being criticized for his role in the fall of the franchise.
They won 17 games, fewest in franchise history.
Martin averaged a career best 24.6 points last season -- his scoring output has increased each year in the league -- but he missed 31 games with a bad left ankle, leaving him open to questions about his toughness and commitment.
He scored 50 points in his season finale, an overtime loss to Golden State, but he sat out the Kings last eight games, concerned that his ankle wasn't healing properly.
Martin looked healthy this week during workouts at the IMG Academy, where he has spent time every summer for the last eight years. He sounded enthused about returning to Sacramento for another season, but even he admitted it's tough to be too excited about the Kings chances.
They added first-round picks Tyreke Evans (4th pick from Memphis) and Omri Casspi (23rd pick from Israel), but it is difficult to envision them being anywhere but near the bottom again in the Western Conference. The Kings are preaching patience to their fans, that the building process will be painful. They won't have any room under the salary cap to sign a high-profile free agent until next summer.
"I understand that people sometime don't want to be part of something that takes awhile, but hopefully, we've already hit bottom,'' Martin said. "My first couple years in the league, we were fighting for playoff spots. Now, you've just got to adjust the way you look at things. We've got some nice young players. I have to help them get better.''
Martin is genuinely excited about the Kings coaching change. Veteran Paul Westphal will be his fifth coach in six seasons. Martin will be entering the third year of his five-year, $53 million contract.
"I'm not going to be critical. I'm a professional,'' he said. "I love being in Sacramento, taking this ride. Nothing is going to come in the way of getting better. Sure, you want to speed up the process. You don't want to be scoring for no reason.''
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