Updated: August 18, 2004, 9:54 AM ET

Martin should flourish in Denver

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By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
If Kenyon Martin, the newest member of the Denver Nuggets, is going to miss Jason Kidd and the team that twice took him to the NBA Finals in his first four seasons as a professional basketball player, then why is he smiling so much?

After all, Martin has never averaged more than 17 points per game in any season despite playing with the best point guard in the NBA. He has never averaged double-digit rebounds despite being a starting power forward in 280 of his 283 games. And despite being the consensus college player of the year and the No. 1 pick of the 2000 NBA draft, he didn't win the Rookie of the Year award in 2001.

Then why are the Nuggets, who gave him a 7-year, $90 million deal this offseason, smiling just as wide?

Maybe, just maybe, Martin and the Nuggets took a look at the statistics and realized that while Martin and Nets were a good mix, they were an even better one.

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