One of the more amusing habitual sayings in the NBA for going on two decades – repeated frequently by players, coaches and fans alike – is that Allen Iverson is and was the best “pound-for-pound” All-Star in the league. It’s been repeated so often that it has since lost most of its original meaning, which was that Iverson was the best player as his size, listed at six-feet tall, without taking away from the many other great players who happened to be much bigger.
It’s harmless and funny and frankly endearing to hear it repeated these days, but the thing about it is that Iverson was never going to move up in this theoretical weight class. He was always going to be the same size, so there was never going to be a real discussion in the same way a heavyweight champion is typically not going to have to test himself against the best of the featherweights.
Caleb Martin doesn’t have that luxury, nor does he get to be one anymore. Last season Martin, as a veteran who took a two-way contract with the Miami HEAT and wound up as a rotation regular a month in, might have been pound-for-pound the best value in the league. How could he not be given that he was in the 75th percentile for estimated plus-minus, per dunksandthrees.com, while on a contract designed to make it easier for teams to send players back and forth from the G-League?
“He came in and he understood his role on the team, but he never approached it like he was a two-way,” says Eric Glass, the coach Martin works most closely with. “He was going to take the bull by the horns and make his opportunity happen without really disturbing the flow of the team. That’s not an easy concept, where you’re going to impose your will without stepping on anybody while doing it.”
But unlike the Iverson that exists in arguments and discussions, Martin doesn’t get to stay in the same weight class. Now on a guaranteed, multi-year deal and with P.J. Tucker and his 30 minutes gone to Philadelphia, Martin is now a Need, not a Nice-To-Have.
“From the outside it’s like, ‘Oh man, that’s a steal. They got a two-way guy playing like this,’ Glass says. “But he didn’t treat himself like a two-way. He was like a roster player. Just because his contract didn’t state that, his mindset already was there. I think that’s why he had so much success.”
The good news is that Martin is set to deliver on all the promise of his first HEAT season, one which saw him increase his three-point shooting to 41 percent from 24.8 the year before in Charlotte, his two-point shooting to 56.5 percent from 49.6 the year before – rocketing his true-shooting over 60 – all while regularly guarding some of the best scorers in the league.
The easy part is he only needs to do that again. The trick is that he’ll have to do more of it.
That’s a little reductive – tapping into his athleticism to add to his in-between game will be a priority – but it’s true in practice. If Martin is going to become a true floor spacer creating room for the Jimmy Butler’s and Bam Adebayo’s above and below the break, not just someone who makes 40 percent of the occasional three, he’ll have to take more shots. Do that, while still making a high percentage, and slowly – teams always take some time to adjust and truly believe in your threat level – he’ll see faster and more regular closeouts. Martin’s career-high 28 points on 6-of-8 from three last year came because Milwaukee refused to come out of the paint to defend him. Granted that just what Milwaukee does, but the endgame for any role player is to make great defenses respect them.
Regardless of how the percentages and volume play out – a player getting a full offseason without making mechanical changes to their shot should be treated similarly to players getting a full offseason without having to rehab an injury – the defense is going to play. Even if Martin is the starting four in name only, there aren’t many starting fours who could check a Trae Young or Damian Lillard or Steph Curry. That’s what makes Martin unique. He began delivering on his potential to impact winning on both ends of the court last year, shooting, defending, running the floor and adding some bonus scoring punch. If he can do all of it more often, with the right night-to-night cadence, that very well might make him the best fit in the opening lineup.
“My whole thing to Caleb is let’s not get into who is the best starter, it’s who is the best fit around Kyle, Bam and Jimmy,” Glass said. “That’s all it’s going to be about. If [other guys] don’t fit as well around them, that’s your opportunity. That’s how you have to evolve your game. Do what you do, but help those other guys make that group work.”
With that, let’s hear from Martin on his next big opportunity. He may have had a dynamite contract year, but now he has a chance, on what should be a winning team, to become something of a household name. A star role player, not just a great value one.
What follows is a conversation from training camp in The Bahamas.
Couper Moorhead: Before we get to the summer, I think it’s important to talk about how last season ended. Now that you’ve had time to sit with it and think about the Boston series, what has stuck with you from that series as far as what you take from it going forward?
Caleb Martin: One of the biggest things for me is, it being my first experience in the playoffs, was recognizing that even though you’re playing the same team six or seven times, it’s a different game every single time. The games change. The matchups change. The approach changes. It’s almost like every game is a different team. That stuck with me.
It does become more physical, it does become more intense. But just the fact that you can’t come in with the same mindset, the same tactics every time because both sides mix it up.
We talked a lot about it last year, but your shot, with a lot of work behind the scenes, was pretty great all season long. But it took a dip in the playoffs and you weren’t really playing healthy at that point either. Is that what you think affected your percentages?
It was not fully being healthy, but also at the same time it was sporadic minutes. That just happens whenever you aren’t playing consistently. You throw anybody in there five minutes here, ten minutes there, maybe two minutes there, everybody’s touch and feel on their shot won’t feel the same. It doesn’t matter who it is. I have to be OK with that, I have to figure out how to still make shots. That’s one of the toughest things to do. I feel like it’s a super underrated position to be in in terms of how challenging it can be. It’s much easier to go in there and play 30 minutes a game knowing you’re going to shoot however many times.
Getting there in a moment because there’s now an opportunity for you to have those consistent minutes and shots, but the season ends and now you’re a free agent. You had already bet on yourself last year taking the two-way deal. What are you thinking at the start of that process, did you definitely want to be back? Was there uncertainty?
My plan was always to come back. My intention was always to come back. But I’ve been working so hard to get to that point in my career, so I also had to think about my future in terms of being financially stable and secure. I also needed to go where that was the best fit as well. I wanted to take everything into account and just soak in the fact that it was my first experience in free agency and get to experience that with my brother.
First priority I definitely wanted to come back. I wanted to make sure that happened and I wanted them to feel good about me coming back.
Were you and Cody, with him being a free agent as well, sharing the experience?
Me and my brother were together the whole time. As I was going through it, he was going through it. I’d be getting phone calls, we’d be talking things over. We were pretty much with each other through the whole process and that made it easier.
Was there interest around the league?
There was. Which was obviously the first time I’ve been in that position before. It was pretty cool.
A little different from last year where you were hunting for a deal.
Exactly. It just put it in perspective how blessed I was [having been] in that position last year and just very grateful. I wasn’t trying to make it a stressful process because those are great problems to have. A lot changed in a year.
What was going through your mind when you saw P.J. Tucker went to Philadelphia?
I just knew there was opportunity here. I also knew there was a chance they would pick up a four to try and replace him, so to me I was going to make sure I came in and did the same thing to earn playing time and improve on my game. Regardless of if someone comes in, I have to make sure they feel like they need to play me. That’s my job.
Let’s talk about you at the four. You’ve played it, but it’s pretty common that when a team loses a guy from its roster the common conception is that he has to be replaced. But if you’re starting, you’re not going to be P.J. How would you make that role your own?
I think I add quickness and athleticism, versatility in terms of being a mismatch problem on the offensive end. I don’t have to guard fours in terms of banging and being strong, but I can use my quickness in terms of not allowing my guy to touch the ball. There are different ways to do it. It was the same way last year when there was a mismatch, I would just use my speed and my length to get around guys, not let them touch it, contests, rebounds, get those bigger guys out of the paint. Just put my own spin on it and use my advantages pushing in transition, coming down on the break. There aren’t a lot of fours that can stay in front in transition.
You would also probably one of the few starting fours, at least in name, in the league who would also be asked to start games off defending guys like Trae Young at times.
Right, that’s what I’m saying. It’s unique. It’s never bad to have an option like that and see what it looks like.
On Media Day you mentioned that you were finally able to go into a summer not having to reconstruct or make wholesale changes to your shot, and in camp so far you look as comfortable as ever, but the next step would seem to be adding volume. How would be different for you, going from two, three attempts from three a game to five or six?
I think that would just make me even comfortable. The fact that I know any time I have some space I can just let it go, confidence wise that’s right up my alley. Once I’m getting to do that and the guys feel comfortable and understand that’s what I’m going to be doing as well, I think it’ll only be more of a problem for other teams on the offensive end. I might take two or three attempts a game and guys would shrink off allow me to shoot it even if I make them, thinking ‘Alright, we’ll live with two or three.’ But if I’m shooting five, six, seven, and I start making those, that’s a lot different. Once I’m able to do that, it’s not going to do anything but make our team harder to guard.
That was the big thing with Milwaukee last year when you had your career high, you were making all those shots but they were just sitting off and letting you have it. So it changes things both for you and the spacing you’re giving someone like Jimmy if they have to close out on you?
Right, that’s what it looks like. Especially if I’m playing confident and I’m shooting those shots on a nightly basis, more often than not that’s what it’s going to look like. I’m going to knock down shots. I’m going to be able to be aggressive. Whether I’m making them or missing them, it just ups your confidence.
Do you feel like you’re thinking less about when to take those shots now?
It’s early. With me, I like to feel things out. I like to come in and observe. I’ll be aggressive and do what I do on defense and energy wise, but on offense I’m feeling out where I’m going to get my shot and how I’m going to get them. I have to see where guys are comfortable getting me the ball. It’s different lineups and stuff right now. Tomorrow I’m going to come out and be more aggressive.
So now that you have a contract and you’ve established your foothold in the league, what is your goal now? What does a successful season for you look like?
For me, free-throw percentage I want to bump that up. Have a chance to win Most Improved Player if I can. Up my points per game into double figures. I want to get to the Finals this year. I’ll figure out more individual goals as we get into the season, but I just want to be more productive and add more volume to my game. Get back not to my college mindset because it won’t be to that extent, but just having that mentality coming in and knowing whoever is on me, they know I’m a threat and not somebody to sink off of. If people continue to sink off of me, I’ll get them up.