The veteran Heat free agent winger rejected a lucrative contract extension offer

Caleb Martin, the longtime Miami Heat forward and starter during the club’s run to the 2023 NBA Finals, has rejected a lucrative long-term contract extension to remain with the franchise, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

According to Jackson and Chiang, the 6-foot-4 Nevada native is seeking a new contract that would “easily” pay him more than $15 million per season. The revamped Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly interested in his services, among other teams, though Martin remains unsigned.

Miami is reportedly hoping to make an offer for a superstar via trade, Jackson and Chiang report, which could explain why the team has yet to make any major deals that could help the club get under the first apron of the NBA’s $178.1 million luxury tax.

The team has spoken with Chicago Bulls unrestricted free agent forward DeMar DeRozan, but the 6-foot-6 USC product apparently isn’t interested in either the mid-level taxpayer exception (currently what the Heat could offer, worth $5.2 million) or even the mid-level non-taxpayer exception ($12.8 million), which would force Miami to make deals to avoid the tax.

The Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs have also spoken with Chicago about a possible sign-and-trade for DeRozan, a source told Jackson and Chiang.

Since the start of the offseason, the Heat have re-signed backup Kevin Love and center Thomas Bryant. Miami also added longtime forward Alec Burks to a one-year, veteran-minimum deal, according to a team press release.

Martin is looking for a bigger deal, and like DeRozan, he would now need the Heat to shed other contracts in order to sign him for the kind of money he’s looking for. In 2023-24 for the Heat (46-36), Martin, 28, averaged 10 points on a .431/.349/.778 batting average, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per night. He started just 23 of those 64 games.

As a versatile winger, Martin should certainly have value for any enterprising playoff hopeful. He doesn’t have much control and is a bit small for his position, making him a somewhat limited offensive contributor. There may not be much incentive to pay him the kind of money he wants to make. Martin could be an intriguing pick for a team with a non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but many playoff clubs seem pretty well-established already, or are waiting for trades that could take weeks or months to come to fruition.