Miami Heat adds former Charlotte Hornets player on two-way deal
In a departure from past years, the Miami Heat will go to training camp without any roster spot realistically available, barring a trade.
The Heat used its second two-way contract to sign former Charlotte Hornets small forward Caleb Martin on Tuesday. Martin, who turns 26 on Sept. 28, has averaged 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists and 16 minutes per game in 71 NBA games, including four starts, for the Hornets over the past two seasons.
Martin, listed at 6-5 and 205 pounds, was waived by the Hornets in August.
Martin isn’t a particularly skilled three-point shooter, as he has shot 31.5 percent from deep in his career (51 for 162). What’s odd, though, is that he shot threes exceptionally well in his first season (20 for 37/54.1 percent) but plunged to 31 for 125 last season (24.8 percent). He was a 35.9 percent three-point shooter in college.
Martin went undrafted in 2019 out of Nevada, where he was named Mountain West Player of the Year as a junior. He began his college career at North Carolina State.
With the Hornets, he joined his twin brother Cody, who was selected by Charlotte in the second round of the 2019 draft. Cody remains on the Hornets’ roster.
Martin joins undrafted Kansas rookie guard Marcus Garrett as the two Heat players with two-way contracts. Teams can carry up to two players on two-way deals, and those players can be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games. Garrett is a former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year with a developing offensive game.
In past years, the Heat allowed several players to compete for a two-way deal in training camp. But that won’t be the case this year, with Garrett and Martin occupying Miami’s two-way spots.
The Heat’s roster is now full with 20 players, as NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players during the offseason and preseason before rosters must be cut to a maximum total of 17 players (15 on standard contracts and two on two-way contracts) before the start of the regular season.
Along with using its two-way contracts, the Heat filled its preseason roster by signing four players to Exhibit 10 deals — D.J. Stewart, Javonte Smart, Dru Smith and Micah Potter. Those Exhibit 10 players are expected to be with the Heat for the start of training camp and likely will be used to stock the roster of its G-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Heat has 14 players signed to standard contracts, one below the NBA limit, and it likely will remain that way well into the season. If the Heat signs a player to a standard contract any time soon, Miami would surpass the luxury tax threshold, which it prefers not to do unless it can add a difference-making 15th player.
The Heat stands less than $1 million under the $137 million tax line and a bit more than $6 million below the $143 million hard cap, which it must operate under all season because it acquired guard Kyle Lowry through a sign-and-trade transaction this summer.
The 14 players signed to standard Heat contracts are Jimmy Butler, Lowry, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Dwayne Dedmon, P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, KZ Okpala, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Udonis Haslem, Victor Oladipo and Omer Yurtseven.
Oladipo, healing from knee surgery, is expected to be available to play sometime between Christmas and late February.
By using its two-way contracts on Garrett and Martin, the Heat added wing depth to its roster to help in Oladipo’s absence. With 71 NBA games under his belt, Martin also brings experience to a spot in the roster that’s usually reserved for inexperienced players.
Two-way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax.
The Heat begins training camp on Sept. 28 and opens preseason Oct. 4 against Atlanta.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 1:55 PM.
