Despite a sense of doom, there are some encouraging signs that the Nets will win the K-Mart sweepstakes and retain the star forward.

Martin is visiting teams with the cap space to sign him to a lucrative deal, starting in Denver.  But he wants to remain in New Jersey if all things are equal.

"That's been my first choice from day one, that's where I've been, where my family is comfortable," Martin said. "But if it's not going to happen, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to lose sleep about it."

Do you want a maximum contract Kenyon?  "Yeah, why not? . . . If I've proven myself, we'll see."

The Nets could offer seven years at $103 million and opposing teams can offer about $85 million over six years.

Martin is restricted, meaning the Nets can match any offer.

CEO Rod Thorn is not overly optimistic.  

"Never; I never feel confident until something is done," said Thorn. "All it takes is one [team], just one to make the offer. It doesn't matter what everything else looks like. Kenyon is visiting teams. He'll find out what's out there and go from there."