Report: Timberwolves negotiating buyout with Kevin Martin

The Minnesota Timberwolves are doing some housecleaning.

After buying out veteran point guard Andre Miller earlier Thursday, the Wolves are in advanced negotiations to do the same with shooting guard Kevin Martin, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

Martin has long been a buyout candidate, and said before the trade deadline last week that he hoped to be dealt to a winning team. The 18-40 Wolves are building from the ground up around a very young and promising foundation, and while their team-building strategy to this point included keeping vets like Miller and Martin around to serve in part as transitional mentors, they appear ready to move forward with an increased emphasis on their young pups.

Martin, 33, has seen his minutes slashed to 21.4 per game, his fewest since his rookie season in 2004-05. He's struggled shooting the ball, too, hitting a career-low 37.7 percent of his field goals. A year after averaging a team-leading 20 points, Martin is down to 10.6, with a true shooting percentage (52.3) and PER (12.2) that are both decade-long lows.

Still, Martin remains a strong 3-point shooter (36.9 percent), and gets to the free-throw line at one of the NBA's highest rates. Though his defense leaves something to be desired, he's a capable offensive player who could give a contender an added scoring punch off the bench.

In his 698-game career, Martin has averaged 17.6 points, while shooting 38.5 percent from deep and getting to the line nearly six times per game. He needs to be on a roster by March 1 to be eligible for the postseason.