He said he wanted to be a superstar, the likes of Dwyane Wade, going into a 17 win season. If he wanted to be elevated to that level, and he came out and said it, you damn right I'm gonna hold him to that standard. Gilbert Arenas said the same thing and came out and backed it up (injuries and mental farts aside) and he was picked even lower than Martin. I don't think Martin had the work ethic to be what he said he wanted to be, and so this summer he is backtracking after realizing that he couldn't handle the pressure of super-stardom. So instead of working harder he comes out and puts the blame on us, fans, for wanting him to achieve what he said he wanted to achieve. And now I catch flak for holding him to what he said. All bad.
I don't care if he said he wanted to be a superstar. You should have rolled your eyes and said "Ok Kev, just work on that defense," just like I did. It's called delusions of grandeur, and it's not uncommon among scoring two-guards in the NBA.
It's not about work ethic. Kevin Martin can work all day long for as long as he wants to, and he'll NEVER be Dwayne Wade. Won't be Gilbert Arenas, either. Both of those guys are simply more talented than he is. See, there's talent, and then there's skill. Superstardom comes when those two qualities are maximized in one player. And you have plenty of truly talented players that never developed enough skill to be special players. And there's tons of players that are incredibly skilled, but just don't have the raw talent to transcend.
Maybe Kevin Martin didn't work as hard as he could have (I'm not inclined to simply take your word for it, as there are numerous reports that he's in fact a very hard worker), and maybe he is shrinking back now, but it doesn't change the fact that he was never going to be a superstar, regardless of what he said or how hard he worked. And that's what's so ridiculous about you comparing him to superstars, because he's simply not that and never was. Like I said, he was never anything more than a guy who had the potential to be a good scorer. You call him Peja 2.0, and I say "well, what did you expect?"
And all of that notwithstanding, he's not a King anymore. He's in a situation that's a lot more suitable to him, and I hope he can flourish there. He's not going to be a first team kind of guy, but he'll probably fill his role nicely and help his team win some games, and I'll be happy for him. If you want to hang your hopes on a someone's desire to be a truly elite player, look at our own roster. We have two guys that actually do have the potential to be top ten players in the NBA. Now if they end up being middling role players, then I'll be disappointed.