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Kenyon Martin has yet to make much of an impact on the court for the Milwaukee Bucks, but it looks like he'll have a few more months to prove his worth in Milwaukee. ESPN's Marc Stein reported on Tuesday night that Martin will sign on for the remainder of the season in Milwaukee, while the Bucks will also sign former Nets point guard and current D-Leaguer Jorge Gutierrez. Milwaukee is currently at the maximum 15 roster spots including Martin, but Charles Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel has confirmed that the team can now use Larry Sanders' roster spot to add Gutierrez.
Gutierrez gets 10-day contract; Bucks do not need to waive a player. Bucks allowed to replace Larry Sanders spot after his 5th susp. game.
— cfgardner (@cf_gardner) January 28, 2015
Bucks allowed to use that roster spot until Sanders' suspension is over. Remember, it could be longer than 10 games at league discretion.
— cfgardner (@cf_gardner) January 28, 2015
Players can only be signed to two 10-day deals before they must be signed for the remainder of the season or released, so effectively this was the make-or-break day for Martin's future in Milwaukee. With his second 10-day contract set to expire on Wednesday, Martin insisted earlier this week that he had yet to be informed of the team's plans going forward, though it's always been assumed that the Bucks intended to keep Martin for the remainder of the season.
The 37-year-old Martin has looked rather rusty for the Bucks since being signed on January 9, though the common refrain has been that Martin was signed as much for his off-the-court veteran presence as on-court production. Martin has made just 4/12 shots and registered nine rebounds and ten fouls in 47 minutes to date, his first game action since going down with an ankle injury during the 13/14 season. Kidd thankfully hasn't needed him for any prolonged periods, though Larry Sanders' ongoing absence and Ersan Ilyasova's inability to stay healthy hasn't made Kidd's life any easier. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jared Dudley have both seen extended minutes at the power forward spot, with Martin playing key fourth quarter minutes at center next to Giannis in last night's win in Miami.
Like Martin, the 26-year-old Gutierrez is a familiar face for head coach Jason Kidd. The 6'3" point guard is a fellow Cal alum and played 10 games for Kidd in Brooklyn last season, then saw action in another 15 contests with the Nets this year before being traded with Andrei Kirilenko to Philadelphia. He was waived the next day and has been playing for the Canton Charge since late December, averaging 15.2 ppg, 6.0 apg and 3.5 turnovers per game. Here's some video of him putting up a double-double against the Knicks' D-League affiliate a couple weeks ago:
Though lacking in three point range and athleticism, the 2012 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year brings good size for the point guard position, and his scouting report is littered with words like "gritty" and "hard-nosed" and "hustle." Not a bad guy to have on the end of your bench, though also not a guy you would have expected the Bucks to need a month ago. Remember when the Bucks had four point guards? Alas, Milwaukee opted to dump Nate Wolters in order to sign Martin, and Kendall Marshall promptly tore his ACL a week later.