Miami Heat: Caleb Martin Has Work To Do On His Game, But Does Offer Promise
In Martin, the Miami Heat have their next 3 & D prosepect to mold. He has good two-way potential and though he needs to work on his shooting, he can do a lot on offense and guard multiple positions on the defensive side of things.
He’ll be a guy that you can throw out and have him guard the opposing best wings, certainly. He’s scrappy and he’s tough too though.
He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work and actually played against a ton of bigger guys in college, so going up to the four on the defensive side might not be that big of an issue in certain situations for him. He’ll mainly be there to try and shut down opposing wings though.
Again, if he can find his range from the outside, the Miami Heat have a guy that could stick around for a little while. That’s because he could provide immense value as a defender, not hurt you on the other side of the ball, and all at a pretty affordable rate… if it all plays out like it could.
If anyone can get the best out of a guy like Martin though, it’s the Miami Heat. The thing about it all is that the knows that too.
Take the following for example. It’s a bit he had to say later in the Chiang piece.
"“It’s evident that they try to find gems and they try to find pieces,” Martin said. “They’re just not bringing guys just to bring guys because that’s what they’re supposed to do or anything like that or they have spots to fill. They bring guys that they believe can contribute or that they believe they can mold into culture guys that they want to keep around. Even though I’m a two-way, my goal is to come in and make an impact right away with my experience and my skill set and my athleticism and just be active."
He knows what is before him and that’s a ton of work. If he does that, he should have no problem accomplishing his “ultimate goal”.
He let that be known as well, stating that his “ultimate goal is to become a full-time roster guy”, But that he’s “just looking to take advantage of the opportunity and learn a lot from a lot of great vets” that the Miami Heat have.
Martin is saying all the right things. He appears to be embracing all the right things too. If he can keep that up, he might just do all the things he thinks he will.