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Why Did The Hornets Cut Caleb Martin?

Caleb Martin
Why did the Hornets cut Caleb Martin? Does Charlotte deserve blame for giving up on the Nevada product? (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Why Did The Hornets Cut Caleb Martin?

The Miami Heat are heading to the 2022-23 NBA Finals and I’m not sure they would be there without Caleb Martin. The pride of Nevada put on a clinic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Better yet, let’s just show you the shot chart because it’s ridiculous.

Martin, 27, probably should have been the MVP of that series and Miami might be at home without him. Of course, with every success story, there is a punching bag in the same breath. The Hornets have been taking ricochet shot after ricochet shot (maybe rightfully so) for waiving Martin.

It’s easy to talk trash with hindsight bias. It’s exactly why I’m preparing to expose myself in this moment. I’ll be the first to admit that I never thought Martin was good. This clip is awesome. I mostly wanted to just talk trash because Diamond is a Nevada alum but it’s funny how this worked out. This is the link if you want to watch the entire video (it goes back to a season preview of the Heat).

Martin wasn’t drafted either so the entire league didn’t think he was that good. With all of that being said with hindsight bias involved, I still think it’s fair to criticize the Hornets. Mostly because they kept twin brother Cody who was the worse player in college. You can dive into their stat pages for yourselves.

This is the link for Cody and the link for Caleb. You will notice that Caleb scored way more points and was the more efficient shooter from 3.

It’s one thing to pass on Caleb Martin. It’s another thing to pick the wrong brother…

Credit to Griff for calling the Martin coming-out party.

What also needs to be mentioned is the Heat’s culture and coaching staff. Erik Spoelstra is the best head coach in the league by a wide margin. Miami just made the NBA Finals with seven undrafted players in the rotation. It’s possible that this Martin success story simply never happens with another team. Miami deserves as much credit as Charlotte deserves the blame.

Side note: Maybe J Cole has a future in scouting?

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