Caleb Martin talks new Heat contract and challenge of playing as undersized power forward
As a two-way contract player for the Miami Heat at the start of last season, anything Caleb Martin offered was viewed as a bonus. The expectations grew as the season went on as Martin established himself as a consistent member of the rotation and eventually had his two-way deal converted to a standard NBA contract.
Those expectations haven’t stopped growing since, especially after Martin re-signed with the Heat on a fully guaranteed three-year deal worth $20.4 million as a restricted free agent this summer. The contract includes a player option in the third season in 2024-25.
“I hold myself to a higher standard,” Martin said to a few South Florida-based reporters at halftime of the Heat’s summer league loss to the Hawks on Tuesday night at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. “There are more expectations whenever you have a contract like that and you get to sign something like that. So obviously I’ll try to be every dime, every penny that the contract is worth, and obviously I’m holding myself to a higher standard. So I’m always going to try to meet expectations.”
But in order to meet those expectations, Martin may have to find a way to thrive as the Heat’s starting power forward despite only standing at 6-5 and 205 pounds following the departure of P.J. Tucker. While trading for superstar forward Kevin Durant would certainly change things, Martin stands as arguably the best internal option to be the Heat’s starting power forward on a roster that also includes Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic and potentially Udonis Haslem (if he returns for a 20th NBA season) as other options at the position.
Tucker, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason as a free agent, was used as the Heat’s starting power forward last season. He stood 6-5 like Martin, but Tucker was able to hold his own with the help of his 245-pound frame.
“I don’t have any problem,” Martin said regarding the possibility of playing as an undersized four this upcoming season. “I think that’s part of being versatile, is me being able to do something like that. You could sit here and say that I’m not a four or a wing or whatever, but I think I’m a basketball player and I adjust to any position. So if the guys need me to play the four, it might look a little bit different. But I’m going to get the job done and I’m going to learn the things I need to pick up on.”
To help prepare for more frontcourt minutes, Martin is working to add more muscle to his frame.
“I’m going to definitely bulk up,” he said. “I’m going to just get stronger and just develop more technique in guarding those bigger guys. I’m going to definitely be in the weight room this summer and I’m going to just do my best to guard those guys.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean putting on a lot of weight, though. Martin was quick to emphasize that he wants to get stronger while maintaining his elite athleticism.
“Getting stronger, not necessarily heavier and bigger,” he added. “But you can always put on strength and still be light on your feet. I’m going to find a comfortable weight that works for me and I don’t think that’s much of an issue. I don’t really have any trouble guarding fours. You can say that I’ll play the four and guys will be bigger, but I’ve been guarding bigger guys my whole career. So I’m not really worried about that.”
The Heat’s defensive system built to keep the ball on the perimeter by sending extra defenders to wall off the paint and deny post passes will help Martin when he’s at a size disadvantage.
And it’s worth noting that Martin received some reps at power forward in his first season with the Heat. According to Basketball Reference, he spent a career-high 22 percent of his minutes at the position last season primarily as Tucker’s backup.
“One of those things is just the way we play, we don’t even let guys that are bigger than you touch the ball,” Martin said. “So that’s one thing that I try to do my best and I take pride in is making it difficult for guys to touch the ball in their areas. So I’m going to try to do that.”
Offensively, Martin will have a speed and athleticism advantage over most power forwards. But his offensive success will likely be measured by how efficient he is from three-point range, especially if he’s part of a starting lineup that is anchored by two players who aren’t known for their outside shooting in Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
“Tuck was a big asset for us, man, and guys know what he brought to our team and our locker room every day,” Martin said. “That’s hard to replace. But we got a great group of guys. We got great leaders in the locker room. Obviously, P.J. will be missed. But we’re in good shape regardless. We got a lot of great guys talent wise and mentally to get this thing rolling.”
Martin, who turns 27 in September, averaged career highs in points (9.2) and rebounds (3.8) this past regular season. He also shot a career-best 50.7 percent from the field and raised his three-point percentage from 24.8 percent in 2020-21 to 41.3 percent in 60 regular-season games (12 starts) this past season with the Heat.
As a restricted free agent, Martin never signed an outside offer sheet that would have forced the Heat to match but he did receive interest from teams. A league source told the Miami Herald that another team was prepared to sign Martin to an offer sheet exceeding the value of the three-year, $20.4 million deal he received from the Heat and that offer sheet motivated Miami to move quickly and re-sign him.
“There were options, for sure,” Martin said. “But I just kind of laid back and just waited to see what would happen. Obviously my first priority was wanting to stay [with the Heat]. So that’s my biggest thing, is I wanted to stay here. But obviously I had to keep all options open and see what the best option was and the financial situation.”
Nearly two weeks into free agency, the Heat has re-signed three players in center Dewayne Dedmon, guard Victor Oladipo and Martin. Miami has yet to make any outside free agent additions and lost Tucker to the 76ers, as it has made it a priority to maintain its roster and salary cap flexibility to be an active participant on the trade market for players like Durant and Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell.
Despite the uncertainty still surrounding the Heat’s roster for next season amid the ongoing pursuit of Durant and its interest in Mitchell, Martin is relieved to know that his new contract provides him some sense of long-term security. After earning a total of about $2.9 million in salary during his first three NBA seasons, this deal represents the biggest contract of Martin’s career.
“It feels great, just added security, especially after the way my NBA journey has been so far,” said Martin, who can’t be traded until Dec. 15 after signing his new contract last week. “To obviously get to this point, through all the obstacles I’ve had to overcome, it’s a blessing and I feel great.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
