What to watch for during Miami Heat training camp: Caleb Martin and KZ Okpala
As of right now, the Miami Heat do not have a lot of wing depth. Max Strus and Tyler Herro are their only real wings off the bench, and both are technically guards, not wings.
Past that, the only depth Miami has at the wing is KZ Okpala, and now Caleb Martin. Both are very young players with a lot to prove in the NBA.
Okpala spent his first two seasons with the Miami Heat. He has shown promise in some areas of the game, but still has a ton of room to grow.
Defensively, Okpala has been nothing short of amazing. The way he moves his feet and stays in front of opposing players shows that he has the potential to be an elite NBA defender.
However, he has struggled to put things together on the offensive end. He was a fairly raw prospect coming into the league, but he still hasn’t been able to show any improvements on offense.
Realistically, all the Miami Heat need him to do is hit open threes when the ball is passed his way. He even struggled in Summer League this year, but he’ll have another opportunity to improve during training camp.
As for Martin, he has been with the Charlotte Hornets for the past two seasons. Though he struggled shooting the ball last year, he has shown promise as a scorer.
He and his twin brother Cody Martin were dominant college players at Nevada. If he can get back to scoring as he did in college, the Heat would have a solid option off the bench.
Keep an eye out for how well these two players do in training camp. Their improvements could be the key to Miami’s wing depth this year.