While the Miami Heat appear to be focused on trading for Damian Lillard, one Heat forward seems to be generating some interest around the league.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets are reportedly interested in Caleb Martin.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets are interested in Caleb Martin, per @EthanJSkolnick
(Via https://t.co/3GvpcvSS1k) pic.twitter.com/poSVrxYCLh
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 6, 2023
Perhaps the Nets or Thunder get roped into a potential three-team trade involving Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Nets reportedly want to get rid of Ben Simmons as part of a trade that would send Lillard to Miami, and they might be hoping to get Martin if that deal were to go down.
Brooklyn could easily use a player of Martin’s caliber as it looks to get back to contender status in the Eastern Conference. The former undrafted free agent’s skill set would be useful to any team looking to make some noise.
Martin is coming off a 2022-23 season in which he recorded 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while knocking down 46.4 percent of his shots from the field and 35.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The versatile 27-year-old could be a “real sticking point” in talks between the Heat and Trail Blazers for Lillard. The Heat supposedly do not want to part ways with Martin, who is a known favorite of Lillard.
Last season, Martin started off as the team’s starting power forward. Eventually, he was moved back into a reserve role for the latter part of the regular season and most of the postseason.
During the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Martin stepped his game up and averaged 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while connecting on 52.9 percent of his field-goal attempts and 42.3 percent of his 3-pointers. His biggest contributions came against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, as he almost won MVP honors for the series over Jimmy Butler.
Martin struggled a bit against the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, but people will undoubtedly remember the highlights he produced against the Milwaukee Bucks and Celtics.
There are two years left on Martin’s current contract, though he could opt out of it after this season to become an unrestricted free agent. His player option for the 2024-25 season is worth $7.1 million.
