Kenyon Martin hasn't quite made it out of the Chinese Basketball Association to rejoin the NBA yet, and the situation is becoming more tense with each passing day. Martin had submitted a request for release from his contract in China, and after Chinese basketball officials neglected to response to the request, FIBA intervened and provided Martin with clearance to leave China and pursue a new contract in the NBA. Now Chinese officials are reportedly challenging FIBA's grant of clearance and are demanding that Martin play out his contract in the Chinese Basketball Association, which runs at least until the regular season ends on February 15th (the post season ends on March 28th if his team made an unexpected run), according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The resistance by Chinese Basketball Association officials is a frustrating development not only for Martin, but also for his former teammates from the Denver Nuggets, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler. By all accounts,they are all very eager to get back the NBA as soon as possible.
When FIBA first granted clearance to Martin, the L.A. Clippers, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks emerged as potential fits.
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