NBA Scout on Caleb Martin: Teams 'Have to Be Cautious' About Heat SF's Next Contract
An anonymous NBA scout expressed their belief Saturday that Miami Heat wing Caleb Martin could present a challenge to team's potentially interested in signing him in free agency next offseason.
Speaking to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, an Eastern Conference scout said teams "have to be cautious" when it comes to deciding how big of a contract to offer Martin since they have to weight his regular-season performance against his playoff showing.
The 27-year-old Martin, who was an undrafted free agent out of Nevada, enjoyed a career year with the Heat this regular season, averaging career highs in minutes (29.3), scoring (9.6 points per game), rebounding (4.8), assists (1.6), three-pointers made (1.2) and steals (1.0).
Martin also appeared in a career-high 71 games and started a career-high 49 contests.
While Martin was an important contributor during the regular season in support of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, his play has reached another level during the playoffs.
In 19 postseason games, Martin is averaging 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 three-pointers made and 1.6 assists, while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Martin was particularly dominant during Miami's win over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging 19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 trifectas and 1.7 assists.
Butler won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP Award, but Martin was in the thick of the conversation and nearly won it himself.
"Everyone has seen him and knew he was an excellent defender who can make a shot, but nobody had seen this—a guy who's a 20 point a game scorer and shooting 50 [percent] on threes. Plus, his self-creation ability has really impressed me. He gets to the basket and he finishes. He's not pigeonholed into being a spot-up and catch shooter. He showed he's a pull-up guy, too. He really has become a three-level scorer.
"He has played out of his mind entering the Finals. The question is if it's something he can maintain at this level or close to it. The fact he has done it at this time of the year is significant. Boston didn't pay attention to him. He will be on the scouting report more."
Martin made just shy of $6.5 million this season and will make about $6.8 million next season before having a player option for the 2024-25 campaign.
His ECF performance alone should net him a significant raise from the Heat or another team, but it remains unknown if he can consistently play at that level for an entire season.
The Heat are down 1-0 to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, but if they can turn it around and Martin can return to his ECF form, he has a chance to up his potential free-agent contract even more.
