Hornets, Caleb Martin Agree On Three-Year Deal
Caleb Martin, whose Exhibit 10 contract was converted into a two-way deal with the Hornets earlier today, has agreed on a three-year pact with the team, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The new arrangement will include a partial guarantee.
We told you earlier today that Charlotte is considering two-way deals with Kobi Simmons and Jalen McDaniels, so Martin may eventually be moved onto the regular roster. Robert Franks currently occupies the other two-way slot, while Simmons and McDaniels are still with the team on non-guaranteed deals.
Martin, a 24-year-old shooting guard, signed with the Hornets in July after going undrafted out of Nevada. He played there with his twin brother Cody Martin, who also won a roster spot after being selected by Charlotte with the 36th pick in this year’s draft.
Hornets Convert Caleb Martin To Two-Way Deal
After waiving two-way player Ahmed Hill earlier today, the Hornets have filled that newly-opened two-way slot by converting rookie forward Caleb Martin‘s Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way pact, the team announced in a press release.
It appears that Martin, whose twin brother Cody Martin was selected by the Hornets in the second round of this year’s draft, will remain on the same roster as Cody after playing with him at Nevada as well.
Caleb averaged 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 34 games as a senior for the Wolf Pack. In five preseason games with the Hornets, he recorded 9.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 20.6 minutes per game.
While Martin and Robert Franks are occupying the Hornets’ two-way slots for the time being, that could change. Rod Boone of The Athletic tweeted earlier today that Kobi Simmons and Jalen McDaniels, who are currently on non-guaranteed contracts, are candidates to get two-way deals in Charlotte. Boone also hears that converting Martin to a two-way deal may be a procedural move to get him back on the regular roster on a new standard contract (Twitter link).
For now, the Hornets have 17 players under contract — 13 on guaranteed salaries, Simmons and McDaniels on non-guaranteed deals, and Martin and Franks on two-way pacts.
Southeast Notes: Parker, Carmelo, Heat, Hornets
Former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker expressed confidence in his decision to sign with the Hawks last month, explaining to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune why Atlanta appeared to be the best situation for him in free agency.
“It’s never promised that things are going to go well, but just from the energy that I’m feeling, it’s a good situation for me,” Parker said. “Trae Young is someone who can not only score but distribute. John Collins is a very, very good player.
“I know the expectations. I can fulfill my role accordingly. I’m young, but they’re younger. One thing I take pride in is I’ve now been every player — from the first to last guy on the team. And I’m grateful for those experiences.”
Parker, who held per-game averages of 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 26.9 minutes last season with Chicago and Washington, has had a rocky start to his professional career. He’s played with four different teams since being drafted in 2014, unable to find a consistent role with a franchise.
In addition to adding Parker, the Hawks will enter the 2019/20 season with new players Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, Damian Jones and Chandler Parsons, along with first-round picks Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter.
There’s more from the Southeast Division today:
- Carmelo Anthony could be a logical option for the Heat depending on what role he’d receive, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Miami is loaded at the power forward position, though the team could use its final roster spot on a player who can provide depth at small forward if Justise Winslow keeps his starting point guard job. The Heat’s decision could also come down to whether Udonis Haslem chooses to return next season.
- In a separate piece for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman examines how outside free agency signings impacted the Heat and their competition during the offseason. Superstars such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Paul George and others all changed teams this past summer.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter) provides cap details on the contracts inked by Cody Martin and Caleb Martin, who both signed with the Hornets. Cody’s contract ($1.17MM in the first season) is guaranteed in the second season and non-guaranteed in the third, while Caleb signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team.
Hornets Sign Cody Martin, Caleb Martin
10:28am: The Hornets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed both Martin brothers.
9:33am: The Hornets will become the latest NBA team to carry a pair of brothers on the same roster. In this case, it’ll be the Martin twins – Cody Martin and Caleb Martin – who sign with Charlotte, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Cody, who was the 36th overall pick in the 2019 draft, will sign a three-year contract with the Hornets, according to Charania. That deal figures to come out of the team’s mid-level exception, since Charlotte would otherwise be limited to two years. As for Caleb, he’ll get a partially guaranteed deal, Charania adds. If that guarantee doesn’t exceed $50K, he could emerge as a candidate to fill the club’s open two-way slot.
The Martins, who are each 6’7″ forwards, spent their college careers playing together as well, first at North Carolina State and later at Nevada. In 2018/19, Cody averaged 12.1 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.5 RPG with a .505/.358/.763 shooting line, while Caleb recorded 19.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .409/.338/.732 shooting.
After the Hornets selected Cody early in the second round last month, Caleb joined the team’s Summer League roster, though he was unable to play due to a knee injury. Charlotte wanted to keep an eye on Caleb during the summer, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), who says he heard in Las Vegas that it was a given that Caleb would be in camp with the Hornets this fall, assuming he was healthy.
The Martins will become the second pair of twins to play on the same roster this fall, joining Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez of the Bucks. Milwaukee also employs another set of brothers – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo – while the Pacers will have both Aaron Holiday and Justin Holiday under contract.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Wade, Raptors, Workouts
The Celtics own three of the first 22 selections in the NBA draft and we reported last month that the team was expected to shop at least one of those picks. It appears that Boston has begun making calls with Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders connecting Houston as a potential trade partner for the franchise.
Boston has interest in Clint Capela, though the big man is not the organization’s top priority. As we wait to see if Capela is shipped to Boston or if Danny Ainge‘s squad unloads a first-rounder elsewhere, let’s take a look at some draft notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers worked out six prospects on Monday, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jarrell Brantley (College of Charlestown), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Caleb Martin (Nevada), Jeremiah Martin (Memphis), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), and Marcel Ponitka (Arka Gdynia) all participated in drills for the franchise.
- Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that Dean Wade (Kansas State) will work out for the Nets. Wade has had six workouts since the NBA Draft Lottery.
- The Raptors had six prospects in for workouts on Monday, per Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), Isaiah Pineiro (San Diego), Aric Holman (Miss State), Daulton Hommes (Western Washington), Armoni Brooks (Houston), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all worked out for the team.
- Six more prospects worked out for the Raptors today, Murphy tweets. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Javon Bess (St. Louis), Kyle Alexander (Tennessee), Jakeenan Gant (Louisiana), Jalek Felton (North Carolina) and Quinndary Weatherspoon (Miss State) all participated in drills for Toronto.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Hornets
There have been no recent updates on the Wizards‘ search for a new head of basketball operations, leading to speculation that Washington is waiting to make a run at current Nuggets president of basketball ops Tim Connelly.
While Connelly’s Nuggets are still alive in the playoffs, David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that if Connelly is the Wizards’ man, they should go after him now. As Aldridge points out, active postseason runs didn’t stop the Timberwolves from hiring Gersson Rosas, or the Suns from naming Monty Williams their new head coach.
It’s not entirely clear if the Wizards are still targeting Connelly, but Aldridge hears from several sources that Denver’s head of basketball ops would be “delighted” to run the Wizards. A previous report referred to the Wizards’ open position as Connelly’s “dream job.” Connelly is still under contract with the Nuggets, but if the Wizards make an offer that significantly exceeds his current salary – which Aldridge says is “just north” of $2MM per year – then he could go to Denver’s ownership in good faith and ask for the opportunity to run his hometown team.
So far, the Wizards have interviewed Danny Ferry, Tommy Sheppard, Troy Weaver, and Rosas for the front office vacancy, Aldridge confirms.
As we wait to see what the Wizards do to replace Ernie Grunfeld, here’s more from around the Southeast…
- The first priority for the Wizards‘ next head of basketball operations will be establishing a culture of accountability, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, who provides a detailed account on how such a culture has been lacking in D.C. for years.
- It has been a busy week of pre-draft workouts for the Hawks, who have brought in prospects like Duke forward Javin DeLaurier, Kansas guard Quentin Grimes, and Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr. on Wednesday and Thursday, and plan to bring in several more on Friday. According to the team, the full list of prospects to work out during that three-day stretch for Atlanta also includes Phil Booth, Reggie Perry, Justin Simon, Max Strus, Lagerald Vick, Ahmed Hill, Skylar Mays, Markis McDuffie, Dylan Osetkowski, Tyler Cook, CJ Elleby, Terance Mann, Matt Mooney, Tanor Ngom, and Myles Powell.
- The Hornets‘ pre-draft workout schedule has also been full this week. Donta Hall (Alabama), Nick Perkins (Buffalo), Kerwin Roach Jr. (Texas), Kenny Williams (UNC), Ahmed Hill, and Markis McDuffie auditioned for the team on Wednesday, while Shaqquan Aaron (USC), Kyle Alexander (Tennessee), Kavell Bigby-Williams (LSU), and Caleb Martin (Nevada) were among those who did so on Thursday.
- In his latest mailbag, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer discusses Jeremy Lamb‘s free agent value, potential backup plans for the Hornets if Kemba Walker leaves, and much more.
NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp
The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.
Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers. That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.
The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.
As this week’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.
Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:
- Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
- Bennie Boatwright (USC)
- Phil Booth (Villanova)
- Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
- Bryce Brown (Auburn)
- Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
- Chris Clemons (Campbell)
- Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
- Tyler Cook (Iowa)
- Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
- Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
- Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
- Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
- CJ Elleby (Washington State)
- Tacko Fall (UCF)
- Robert Franks (Washington State)
- Jared Harper (Auburn)
- Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
- Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
- Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
- DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
- Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
- Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
- Terance Mann (Florida State)
- Caleb Martin (Nevada)
- Cody Martin (Nevada)
- Luke Maye (North Carolina)
- Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
- Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
- James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
- Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
- Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
- Jalen Pickett (Siena)
- Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
- Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
- Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
- Max Strus (DePaul)
- Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
- Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
- Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)
Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:
- Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
- Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
- Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
- Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
- Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
- Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
- John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
- Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
- Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
- Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
- Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
- Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
- Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
- MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
- Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
- Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
- Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
- Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
- Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
- Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
- Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
- Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
- Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
- Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
- Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
- Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)
Southeast Notes: Kemba, Beal, Heat, Hawks
Kemba Walker‘s free agency will be a fascinating situation to watch this offseason, since it’s hard to determine what the best-case scenario is for the Hornets, writes Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Re-signing Walker to a maximum salary contract would limit Charlotte’s ability to acquire help around him, but one scout thinks the Hornets would “be like an expansion team” without him, per Weitzman.
Complicating matters further? Walker will become eligible for a super-max contract, worth an extra $30MM+ over five years, if he earns a spot on this year’s All-NBA teams, which is a distinct possibility. Only the Hornets could offer him that super-max, but doing so would mean paying the point guard an average of $44MM annually through 2023/24.
“It’d be like the John Wall deal,” one front office source told Weitzman. “They should have traded him last year, when his value was high. They could have just reset.”
With lucrative deals for Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist all set to come off the Hornets’ books in 2020, the team wouldn’t necessarily be mired in salary-cap hell for years if it re-signs Walker. Still, there’d be no obvious way to add a capable No. 2 option behind the point guard anytime soon.
“The surrounding pieces aren’t so bad,” another front office source said to Weitzman. “They just need another guy in there so they can all slide down a role.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- In the view of David Aldridge of The Athletic, the time is right for the Wizards to trade Bradley Beal and go all-in on a rebuild. While a Beal-less Wizards squad would be terrible in the short term, it’s the franchise’s best route to contention in the long term, Aldridge argues.
- In his final NBA season, Dwyane Wade was an effective bench scorer off the bench for the Heat, averaging 15.0 PPG, good for second on the team. With Wade no longer around, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines how Miami might look to replace his scoring in its second unit, taking into account the club’s limited cap flexibility.
- The Hawks and Hornets each hosted pre-draft workouts for prospects on Wednesday, the teams announced in a pair of press releases. Atlanta took a look at Ky Bowman (Boston College), Armoni Brooks (Houston), Steven Enoch (Louisville), Caleb Martin (Nevada), Garrison Mathews (Lipscomb), and Kaleb Wesson (Ohio State), while Charlotte auditioned Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Chris Clemons (Campbell), Hassani Gravett (South Carolina), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Ronshad Shabazz (Appalchian State), and Lagerald Vick (Kansas).
Draft Decisions: McDaniels, Cody & Caleb Martin
Forward Jalen McDaniels will return to San Diego State for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. McDaniels is part of a crop of late decision makers who waited until shortly before tonight’s deadline of 11:59pm Eastern to announce whether they are staying in the draft.
“After thoughtful consideration with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to return to San Diego State for my sophomore year.” McDaniels posted on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to furthering my education and returning to the NCAA Tournament. Go Aztecs!”
McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first year at San Diego State. He held workouts with Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Warriors, Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, according to Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In another significant last-minute decision, Nevada stars Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will both return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Cody is ranked 90th and Caleb is 91st in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN suggests the Wolf Pack could be a top 10 team next season with both staying (Twitter link).
There’s also news to pass along on pre-draft workouts:
- The Lakers have a session set for Thursday with Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham and Billy Preston, Wichita State’s Landry Shamet, Penn State’s Tony Carr, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
- The Kings will hold a workout Thursday for SMU’s Shake Milton, Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson, Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews, Cincinnati’s Gary Clark and Missouri’s Jordan Barnett.
- On Tuesday, the Suns brought in Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans, Arizona State’s Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, Wyoming’s Alan Herndon and Australia player William McDowell-White.
- Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago had “solid” workouts with the Bulls and Bucks last week, according to Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox (Twitter link). The Bucks also brought in UCLA’s Thomas Welsh.
- Texas center Mo Bamba will work out Friday for the Bulls, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.
Draft Workouts: Jazz, Ball, Ona Embo, Pinson
Armed with the 21st and 52nd overall picks in next month’s draft, the Jazz are taking a look at a wide range of prospects this week, according to the team.
On Tuesday, the Jazz brought in Jaylen Barford (Arkansas), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Dwight Coleby (Western Kentucky), Jock Landale (St. Mary’s), Caleb Martin (Nevada), and Kenneth Ogbe (Utah Valley) for auditions (Twitter links).
The team’s series of workouts continued today with Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Chimezie Metu (USC), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), PJ Washington (Kentucky), Mustapha Heron (Auburn), and Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure) earning a look from the Jazz (Twitter link).
Here’s more pre-draft workout news from around the league:
- After a stint in Lithuania, LiAngelo Ball has returned stateside to audition for NBA teams ahead of the 2018 draft. According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Lonzo Ball‘s younger brother interviewed with the Thunder and Suns at the Pro Basketball Combine, and has private workouts on tap with the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors.
- A report earlier this week indicated that Tulane’s Ray Ona Embo is expected to withdraw from the draft, but it appears he’s going through with his scheduled workouts before making a final decision. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) hears from Ona Embo’s brother that the sophomore guard has a workout with the Hornets lined up for Friday.
- Former UNC wing Theo Pinson has worked out for the Celtics and Timberwolves so far, and will audition for the Rockets on Thursday, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Pinson also has a Knicks workout on his calendar for June 12, Zagoria adds.
- According to Zagoria (via Twitter), Syracuse early entrant Tyus Battle is working out for the Magic on Wednesday.