Kevin Martin: Stone Cold Gentleman

If the NBA gave a Most Underrated award, the Kings' Martin would have about three by now. Conversely, his teammate Ron Artest would be a perennial powerhouse in the Most Combustible department. With Artest's future up in the air, you've got to figure that the organization is going to stroke his ego a little if they want him to stay.

Nevertheless, it's been a little strange to see coach Reggie Theus unequivocally calling Artest their "best player":

"Outside of Ron Artest, we don't have anyone you can throw the ball to ... . Without that guy, we're going to have to start figuring out where we're going to throw the ball."

For his part, Martin is taking it all in stride:

"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."

Part of the issue here might be that, while no one outside of Sactown every sees Martin play, around those parts he's like a provincial superstar. Look, here's Tom Ziller acclaiming Martin's "unprecedented arsenal." Maybe Artest could be better, but Kevin Martin is just fine, thank you, and doesn't need Reggie Theus to make it so. What's more, he seems smart enough to realized that handling Ron Ron can demand some creative thinking—and sacrifices on the part of all those involved.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.