MettaWorldPanda wrote:Trade to Spurs
SF Duncan Robinson
PF KZ Okpala
for
PF Thaddeus Young
Future 2nd round pick
*Trade frees up 3 million in cap space that allows us to guarantee Caleb Martin once the trade is made and also opens up an extra roster spot and enough money to sign a buyout player. Thad also expires next year freeing up Duncan's 16 million off the cap to offer extension to Herro and contract offer to Dipo.
I'm not going to comment on the trade except to say even with the current plethora of great shooting from the other guys, I'd still rather have DRob than Thaddeus Young for tactical reasons. On the subject of the contracts, however, I can make some points to consider, which perhaps explain why the Heat haven't offered Martin his deal, which is seen as such an obvious move for us.
The first question is how much is Caleb Martin worth in a vacuum, and (for you in the back of the room) I don't mean a
literal vacuum like Space where all the players are worth nothing unless they are in spacesuits and, why would they be playing basketball in spacesuits, you idiot. I am speaking to everyone else actually, so just ignore the post, dumbass. Thank you.
I mean a metaphoric vacuum, like objectively, how much is a guy who has the balls to fight James Johnson worth?

Caleb is a high-energy wing player with solid numbers from beyond the arc in limited minutes and impeccable defense. He is reliable and you can count on him to leave nothing in reserve. He wants to win and is a great player for us. How much is he worth though? The best we can do is build a scale and try to guess. Here is a scale (like electromagnetic spectrum graphs), ranked by salary:
OG Anunoby: 24 yo, Toronto 16m
T.J. Warren: 28 yo, Pacers $12.7m
Joe Ingles: 33 yo, Jazz, $12.4m
DJJ: 24 yo, Bulls, $9.7m
Jae Crowder: 31 yo, Suns, $9.7m
O’Neale: 28 yo, Jazz, $8.8m
Cam Johnson: 25 yo, Suns, $4.4m
Winslow: 25 yo, Clippers, $3.9m
I left out rookie contracts, because they distort real value. One example:
Hunter: 23 yo (rookie deal), Hawks, $7.8m
I think we all agree that Hunter and guys like Miles Bridges are worth more than what they make and will get much more when they negotiate their next deals.
Hold on, though, Anunoby is a starter. A healthy Warren is too. Crowder too. And Johnson. Hmmm... Maybe that's the first question. Is Caleb a starting NBA player or a solid sub? I'm also going to say somewhere in the middle, which is about what I'd offer: $10m per season, about the same as Richardson or Winslow a few seasons ago. Pushing it to $12m is not unreasonable. I'd expect a team that needs him (there are plenty if he plays like he has been for us) would pay even a little more.
It's not like his ability is a secret anymore:
https://www.si.com/nba/heat/miami-news/miami-heat-caleb-martin-continues-improvementHow dumb does this look now?
https://www.nba.com/hornets/hornets-waive-caleb-martinWhy does it matter what other teams can pay? The Heat control him, right? Read on.
First off, it's important to analyze our rights to the player.
http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q83cbafaq wrote:Any Two-Way contract can be converted to a standard NBA contract at the team’s option. A Two-Way contract can be converted from the start of the July Moratorium through the day of the team’s last regular season game in the last year of the Two-Way contract. Once converted, the contract becomes a standard NBA contract that is in effect for the remainder of the term of the Two-Way contract. The player’s salary becomes the NBA minimum salary based on his years of service (pro-rated based on when the contract is converted). If the contract contains an Exhibit 10 bonus, the bonus amount converts to a salary guarantee.
In lieu of converting a Two-Way contract to a standard NBA contract, teams and players are also free to negotiate and sign a standard NBA contract. If a new NBA contract is signed, the Two-Way contract becomes null and void.
Two more important detail to remember:
Bird rights accrue for a player signed to a Two-Way contract the same as for a player signed to a standard NBA contract.cbafaq question 42 this time wrote:In order to make their free agent a restricted free agent, a team must submit a qualifying offer to the player between the day following the last game of the NBA Finals and June 29. The qualifying offer is a standing offer for a one-year guaranteed contract, which becomes a regular contact if the player decides to sign it. This ensures that the team does not gain the right of first refusal without offering a contract themselves. The amount of the qualifying offer depends on the situation:
<snip rookie deal part>
For players coming off Two-Way contracts where the player is no longer eligible to sign another Two-Way contract, the qualifying offer is a standard NBA contract with the minimum salary based on years of service, with at least the Two-Way G-League amount guaranteed.
Ok? How much is that? Martin is in his 3rd season. Easy: $1,737,145 per season.
http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q22Plus $100,000 more of course, so 1.8m.
How much can other teams offer? Well... Let's say a team has $15m cap space. They could offer 4/60 but structure the deal to fit him into their mid-level exception and put the bulk of the salary on the backend. This should sound awfully familiar. It was exactly what the Nets did with Tyler Johnson.
Essentially, we would be looking at something like: $10, $11, 19, 20. Ugh. That's a solid deal for Caleb, but we'll have to trade him with a pick later, unless he becomes a much bigger part of the team.
The better option, in my opinion, is to renounce his rights and just hand him the mid-level exception for 3 seasons. That starts at about $10m per season, averages out to 3/35 and if he bursts a seam in the NBA bubble (so to speak), the Heat can offer him the max in 3 years. He would be almost 30 though. If we do this, there really is no point in converting his deal to a minimum veteran deal (aka standard nba contract). You can't get his bird rights without 3 seasons anyhow, just early bird, and then you have to deal with the Arenas Provision I described above.
tl/dr: There is a good reason why the Heat aren't changing Caleb's deal to a "standard nba contract"
edit:
airp is right that the nba is not allowing 2-way players in the playoffs this season.
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article256136087.html