NET NOTES

The bottom line for the Nets regarding Kenyon Martin and his volcanic stomach heading into last night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals: A sub-par Kenyon Martin was better than no Kenyon Martin at all.

“No question in my mind, 75 percent K-Mart is better than no K-Mart at all,” Jason Kidd said of Martin, who skipped the morning workout yesterday after going home from practice Thursday because of flu-like symptoms. “He has played sick before, he played sick in Game 4. He’ll be there no matter what the circumstances are, unless there was a death or something else.”

Martin called in yesterday and thought about making the morning workout, but Byron Scott told him to rest.

“He said he feels a lot better, but I just told him to stay home and get some rest and get ready,” Scott said. “It would take something traumatic to not allow Kenyon to play. He’s the ultimate warrior.”

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The Nets’ pre-draft workouts continued yesterday with four more players, including a pair of small forwards: Kyle Korver, Creighton’s all-time 3-point shooting leader, and James Jones, Miami’s versatile Academic All-American . . . The Nets were 5-0 in playoff games decided by two points or less . . . Kidd said, yes, his right ankle, sprained in the Detroit series, is still sore. But so is everything else. “It doesn’t bother me, my body is sore, my butt is sore, everything is sore. So the thing is to go out there and compete,” Kidd said.

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Richard Jefferson was in a rotten mood. Asked about Kidd’s contention that Jefferson grew from a miserable show at the All-Star dunk contest, he lashed out at Kidd’s theory, the media and humanity in general.

“Honestly, not to dispute Jason Kidd, but that’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Jefferson said. “Like y’all just look for excuses. You guys [media] just look for excuses. Why? ‘Oh, well, you didn’t have a good dunk contest.’ “