Confirming what was widely suspected, Kings guard Kevin Martin will be sidelined due to his fractured wrist, according to a report from Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee.

At this point it is unclear whether Martin will opt for surgery or merely have his wrist put in a cast. Obviously, which treatment he chooses will determine how much time he will miss. We’ll have more information on Martin’s status as it becomes available.

Kevin Martin is seeking advice from both hand specialists and former players as he ponders how to treat his fractured wrist, according to Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee. While Martin huddled with Bobby Jackson and Kevin Johnson to get the player’s perspective on his injury, Amick reports that the only two options the specialists will likely recommend are either putting the wrist in a cast or undergoing surgery.

Unfortunately for Martin, accusations that he is “soft” are likely to resurface despite his stated desire, per Amick, to play through the injury. But as Amick notes:

much of the skepticism [about Martin’s toughness] sprouts from in-house and spills over into the mouthpieces who set the tone with the fans. It’s a big problem that could have big consequences.

Will the Kings’ pressure Martin to play, or look out for his long-term best interests? The fact that this is even a question goes a long way to explaining why the Kings have fallen into the NBA’s cellar.

Perhaps preempting a backlash from Sacramento Kings fans, Sactown Royalty offers this reminder about Martin’s longterm place with the team:

Games Kevin Martin would miss if he had his fractured wrist surgically repaired or allowed it to heal, assuming the longest stated schedule for recovery: 29.

Games Kevin Martin is under contract for with the Kings: 323.

So, yeah: if he misses a few weeks, it’ll hurt, but in the long run, it’s a matter of protecting an investment that the Kings are tied to for several years, not weeks.

Over at SB Nation’s Sactown Royalty, Tom Ziller explains that no matter what Kevin Martin decides, he’ll wind up suffering:

The “smart” move would be to get the wrist fixed. You don’t drive on a tire with a leak, and you don’t play professional basketball with a wrist fracture that could turn into a full break. This isn’t a Kobe’s finger comparison. Kobe tore the ligament on his pinky. A broken wrist is just a bit more serious. If you doubt that analysis, go join a pick-up game with your pinky taped to your ring finger, and compare that with trying to play with one arm taped behind your back. Comparing this to Kobe’s finger injury is disingenuous.

But Martin has an unfair reputation around here as being soft. Because, you know, men plays on crumbling ankles and shredded groins. It’s as if it is Kevin’s fault he experienced a bone bruise last year! Not to (again) draw someone else’s name into this, but you don’t see anyone questioning Francisco Garcia’s toughness, and he will have missed more games than Martin over two years. Is it because we know what a broken arm looks like, but we can’t quite envision a serious bone bruise in the ankle? Is it because a catastrophic exercise ball failure is more illustrative than a degenerative condition made worse by activity and better only through rest? Are we really that simple, Sacramento?

Because of that unfair reputation, if Martin decides to heal it, he will be pilloried on sports talk radio, by national yuks-yuks, by commenters everywhere. It’s 100% bulls—-, but it’s what will happen. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if some within the franchise turn on him. There’s a lot at stake this season, and clearly — clearly — Kevin Martin is the most important King in terms of wins and losses. Those with jobs on the line (this means within the front office) could see Martin allowing the fracture to heal as a sort of betrayal, a lack of consideration for the own futures. Which is of course — again, 100% bulls—.

As if things weren't tough enough in Sacramento... Rumors persit that the franchise may move within the next few years, the current roster is woefully overmatched (1-4 so far this year), Andres Nocioni was arrested for a DUI yesterday, and now, their lone star, Kevin Martin, is probably going to miss 6-8 weeks with hairline fracture in his wrist.

From the Sacramento Bee:

An MRI revealed that the league's third-leading scorer – and the Kings' best player – sustained a hairline fracture Monday night in a collision with the Memphis Grizzlies' Allen Iverson.

Martin was presented with three options, all of them terrible: He can wear a soft cast and attempt to play, risking further injury and possibly a complete break. He can undergo surgery and have a screw inserted to stabilize the bone, with recovery projected at six to eight weeks. Or he can have the arm casted and hope that the wrist heals itself during a comparable six- to eight-week rehabilitation period.

"I'm going to turn my phone off early tonight, and get some good sleep, and probably make a decision tomorrow," Martin said after watching practice in street clothes. "I played through it last night, but we'll just have to see."

The past few years have seen some pretty dire straits in Sacramento--but even then, through all the turmoil, Kevin Martin's remained a shining light of hope, givning Kings fans someone to cherish. Now, they'll have to look elsewhere for inspiration, and it could be a gloomy couple of weeks in Sactown. We'll have more as news emerges, but for now, it's cruel news to a franchise that's already sputtering.