“He’s gonna get paid” - Charles Barkley believes Caleb Martin should’ve won the Eastern Conference finals MVP over Jimmy Butler
Caleb Martin has emerged as one of the stars of the NBA playoffs, overachieving as one of the Miami Heat's best players during the Eastern Conference finals.
Martin averaged 19.3 points per game in the series after averaging just 9.6 during the season. He led the Heat through large parts of Game 7 and finished with 26 points in Miami's 103-84 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Charles Barkley: "No disrespect to Jimmy Butler, but this guy (Caleb Martin) should have been the MVP... They're gonna be calling him Mr. Martin at the bank soon... he's gonna get paid" https://t.co/LpHqYXDLKg
Martin was efficient in his offensive attack, shooting 60.2%, including 48.9% from 3-point range.
Martin gained a lot of new respect following his performance. NBA analyst and legend Charles Barkley had high praise for Martin following his Game 7 performance.
"No disrespect to Jimmy Butler, but this guy (Caleb Martin) should have been the MVP. ... They're gonna be calling him Mr. Martin at the bank soon,” Barkley said. “He's gonna get paid.”
Caleb Martin contract details
Caleb Martin was undrafted out of the University of Nevada and is in his fourth season. He set a career high in games (71) and starts (49) as well as points (9.6), rebounds (4.8) and assists (1.6) per game. This was his first season seeing playoff action.
Martin is under contract for two more years with the Miami Heat. The second year is a player option.
Caleb Martin signed a three year/$20.4M contract last offseason.
His $6.5M salary this year ranked 193rd among all players.
He is not a free agent until 2025.
The Gabe Vincent $1.8M salary ranked 397th.
He is an unrestricted FA in July.
Martin is set to make $6.8 million next season, and the player option is worth $7.1 million. Martin will not be eligible for a big pay raise until next offseason in 2024.
He signed his three-year, $20.4 million deal in the summer of 2022. His salary ranks 193rd among all NBA players.
Miami will not have much cap flexibility this offseason. They have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry under contract next season. The three are set to make a combined $107.3 million.
Duncan Robinson will enjoy the second year of his big extension which will pay him $18.1 million. Tyler Herro’s contract extension kicks in next season as well, and he will get a huge raise to $27.0 million next season.
Gabe Vincent has been a huge contributor during the playoffs, and the Heat will likely want him back. He is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He made $1.8 million this season, which ranks 397th in the NBA.