Kevin Martin proves worthy Thunder replacement for James Harden

• Martin is averaging 19.3 points and shooting better than 50 percent
• Thunder GM Sam Presti showed up in person to fly back with Martin after the trade
• OKC insists Martin wasn't just brought in because the team is lowering expectations

Kevin Martin showed up two and a half hours early to practice with his new Oklahoma City Thunder team recently and discovered a most peculiar thing: He was late.

"Our practice starts at 11, and I'm getting there at 8:30 and seeing Russell (Westbrook) and Kevin (Durant) - the two best players on the court," Martin told USA TODAY Sports this week. "That just makes me want to get there at 8:29 and show them that I'm here to do whatever they need me to do."

Martin is doing just that so far with the Thunder, averaging 19.3 points on 52.1% shooting overall and 61.9% from three-point range (13 of 21). His productive nine-year career that was spent mostly in obscurity is now front and center like never before, after he was traded from Houston to the reigning Western Conference champions for James Harden, who was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year last season, on Oct. 27.

The most unexpected of transitions continues tonight against Chicago, but the process - Martin is well aware - has just begun.

"Now it's just about integrating yourself into a team, a very successful team, and that's where my passion and me fitting into their family culture around here is on display," said Martin, who was sent to the Thunder with rookie shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick in exchange for Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward. "Now it's just that process of getting everything into one big piece. We saw with Miami a couple years ago, they went 9-8 (to start the season), then went to Cleveland and that's when it started clicking for them. It's a process. We're going to win a lot of games, but we know it's very important to be playing at the beginning of June."

Martin, as he has learned, is viewed as a critical part of that process.

From the day the plane arrived to take him from Houston to Oklahoma City, he saw how much the Thunder wanted his services. And, it wasn't the plane itself that impressed Martin the day after the trade, but more who was on it.

Martin is no stranger to charter flights, but when he saw that Thunder general manager Sam Presti had shown up to escort him back, he knew this was no ordinary trade.

"Uh, yeah, that's definitely not normal," Martin said. "It just showed how strongly he feels about the tradition that they've built around here."

As the two of them talked for most of the 70-minute trip on the soaring welcome wagon that also included Lamb and Oklahoma City assistant general manager, Troy Weaver, Martin was given the answer to the question Thunder fans continue to ask: was the trade — which came soon after Presti succumbed to the pressure of the new collective bargaining agreement and opted against giving Harden a four-year, $60 million max extension — a sign that the fast-rising Thunder were lowering expectations? Presti, the 36-year-old GM who orchestrated the ascent and whose team fell to Miami in the Finals in June, offered a resounding no.

"He told me that he just wants me to worry about focusing in on basketball, and they're going to need to transition, so all I have to do is work hard to help them achieve their goals - which is to win a championship," Martin said. "The thing that came across, that message to me, was that he traded for me because he loves my game and he made it clear to me that once you're in the Thunder family, you're in."

Not that the message of unity hadn't been sent even before then.

Durant and Kendrick Perkins called Martin the night of the deal, and the excitement level of a player who has spent most of his career as the best player on bad teams only grew from there.Martin, whose lone playoff experience was a first-round loss to San Antonio in 2006, has waited a long time for an opportunity like this. It has been everything he thought would happen back in 2010, when he was traded from Sacramento to Houston to pair with Yao Ming and ultimately became collateral damage of the big man's failing health and unfortunate retirement.

"You put all those years (of hard work) together, and now you're rewarded with actually being on a good team, being part of something special," said Martin, who added that he already had a good relationship with point guard Russell Westbrook because they're teammates on the Jordan brand for shoes. "For me and my career, that's just all it's about right now. The individual basketball stuff is so far out the window, and now I'm just excited just to play in this kind of atmosphere."

Even with his trademark efficient scoring, the reality is that he's a very different player than Harden.

Martin has averaged 18.3 points in his career and has been a favorite among analysts because of the way he makes the most of each offensive possession and gets to the free throw line so consistently; Harden is a more versatile player, a natural playmaker who entered Wednesday night as the league leader in scoring (an absurd clip of 35.3 points per game) and looking worth every penny of the five-year, $80 million max extension he signed with Houston.

Yet because Martin's contract that will pay him $12.9 million this season expires this summer, the questions about his future have already begun. Presti, whose team's payroll would have been nearing $100 million if he had given Harden the max and been subject to the harsh new luxury tax that kicks in next season, will weigh his options on that front like he does every other.

"The focus for everyone right now has to be on continuing to progress, continuing to grow, and we'll address (Martin's) situation at the appropriate time," Presti told USA TODAY Sports. "But we're really excited about having him here and I think he's excited about being here.

"We feel strongly about the group that we have. We'll look a little bit different, clearly. But we also feel that this team has a great deal of potential and are excited to watch the growth of these guys as the season progresses."

Martin, much like that day on the Thunder's private plane, is enjoying the ride.

"It's an amazing feeling," he said. "I'm excited to wake up every day now and go to practice, and work my tail off.

"You know you're competing for a championship now, and that these players deserve it. And realizing that that separates being remembered as a good player on a good team or a good player on a bad team - it's just that separation. It's just nice to hear. I'm realizing that there's a lot more to this game than numbers."