Kenyon Martin: 'Kevin Garnett was a porch puppy'

Kevin Garnett was regarded as one of the NBA's most notorious trash talkers during his playing days, but according to Kenyon Martin, his tough-guy act was just that - an act.

Martin described Garnett as being more bark than bite in a piece for BasketballNews.com about the loss of the enforcer in the NBA.

"You can't turn a porch dog into a guard dog, and there are a lot of poodles in the NBA right now," Martin wrote. "There were some guys like that back when I played, too. Kevin Garnett was a porch puppy - a miniature chihuahua in a Dobermann's body.

"I told him to his face, 'You're a porch puppy. All you do is bark.' He never wanted smoke from me. I told him straight up, 'You better take your ass back to your huddle before I get mad.' Dahntay Jones heard it; you can ask him."

Martin went on to explain how he wasn't worried about getting suspended for getting physical with someone he felt was being disrespectful.

"If someone is being disrespectful, at the drop of a dime, I'll slap the shit out of them. Then, I'll deal with the three- or four-game suspension, whatever the consequence is," he said. "Years from now, I'll forget about those three games I missed due to suspension, but you're going to remember the time Kenyon Martin slapped the shit out of you."

Martin played 15 seasons in the NBA, making back-to-back NBA Finals appearances with the New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003 and earning an All-Star selection in 2004.