ASK IRA: Has a star been born in the Heat’s Caleb Martin?

Q: I believe we need to give some credit to Pat Riley and the front office for the Caleb Martin contract. So many people lamented letting P.J. Tucker go. Caleb is the reason we are moving on. What a great story. He clearly was the better option. Finals here we come. – Scott, Miami.

A: There was so much misinformation throughout the P.J. Tucker free-agency process. It was not about the luxury tax, it was about becoming hard-capped and therefore unable to sign Caleb Martin to the three-year, $20.4 million deal that got the agreement done. In a perfect world, the Heat would have kept both. And factoring in the lack of state tax in Florida, the Heat’s offer to P.J. basically was the same as he accepted from the 76ers. So who knows, maybe with P.J. this run would have been even easier. But in the end, the Heat wound up with the right man for the job. And now Caleb is free to invite P.J. to watch the NBA Finals in Miami, after the 76ers were eliminated by the Celtics in the second round.

Q: Ira, would you not agree that the Heat’s signing of Caleb Martin was one of the best contracts signed in quite a while? – Brent, Wellington.

A: Initially, that overwhelmingly was my thought, three years at $20.4 million. The rub, however, is that the third year of the deal is a player option. In other words, after being locked in for next season at $6.8 million, Caleb Martin can opt out into 2024 free agency. So you likely are talking only one more year on the deal. Unless Caleb falls off dramatically, he will be worth at least twice his $7.1 million player option in 2024-25. So, yes, great deal for this past season, great deal for the coming season, and the great concern come July 2024.

Q: How much do teammates help other teammates grow? Has Kevin Love helped Celeb Martin in any way? He seems to have grown. Has Kyle Lowry helped Gabe Vincent get better? – Kris, Oceanside, Calif.

A: They helped in their professional approach and comportment. For Kevin Love, it was graciously stepping aside to allow for the agile impacts of Caleb Martin and even Haywood Highsmith in the power rotation. For Kyle Lowry, it was about never making an issue of playing behind a relative neophyte in Gabe Vincent. Those could have been difficult situations for Erik Spoelstra. Now it looks like Kevin could have a place in the NBA Finals, and Kyle likely will be needed to spell Gabe Vincent, whose left ankle does not look fully right.

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