Heat’s secret sauce to building a winning roster includes dash of undrafted players

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DENVER — Caleb Martin of the Miami Heat spent the first two seasons of his professional basketball career shuttling between NBA and G League assignments.

Charlotte Hornets. Greensboro Swarm. Heat. Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Undrafted after a college career at North Carolina State and Nevada, Martin used two-way contracts (playing in both the NBA and G League) to prove he belonged in the NBA. Last summer, Martin signed a three-year, $20.4 million contract with Miami after a productive regular and playoff season and is a valuable contributor.

“The G League has improved tremendously,” Martin said. “They do a great job even promoting the guys that are playing there. Luckily enough when I was playing there, especially in Greensboro, I was on NBA assignment. So, I had the luxury of being able to play heavy minutes and get plays and get shots.

“But it really got me better just playing and learning how to play and being in a different environments and positions.”

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Heat guard Gabe Vincent, right, and forward Caleb Martin (16) high-five during a practice session for the NBA Finals at Ball Arena in Denver on May 31, 2023.

Martin’s story is not unusual. Several players have used the G League to establish NBA careers.

What makes Martin’s story different is that he is one of the undrafted Heat players who were overlooked, cast off by other teams and used the G League to improve and land an NBA deal.

It is specific to how the Heat build a roster. Martin, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Haywood Highsmith are among the undrafted Miami players who have made notable contributions in the playoffs, helping the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference reach the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

The Heat are invested significantly in this area of roster building. They were among the first NBA teams who realized the value of the G League and understood it as a place where they could develop players who fit their system. Heat president Pat Riley and his trusted basketball operations executives Andy Elisburg and Adam Simon are looking for…

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Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2023-06-03 18:28:47

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