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Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2022 Free Agents - Cody Martin
Summary
Although Martin showed some promise in his rookie season, he missed some games in '20-'21 and his minutes went from 18.4 per game to 14.9 per game. That's one of the difficult things about evaluating role players on bad teams. As the team gets better or that player moves to a better team, it becomes a question if that player can stay on the court. However, Martin bounced back in '21-'22, averaging over 25 minutes per game and giving the Hornets another reliable rotation player on the wing.
Martin suffers from being good at a lot of things but not great at any one thing. He plays hard and tends to make the right play the vast majority of the time, but he's a poor shooter from outside and certainly isn't a playmaker or shot creator. He hit 39% from three in '21-'22, but is only a career 32% shooter from outside after hitting just 28% during his first two seasons. If he can continue that level of shooting, or anywhere close to it, that would be huge for him.
Martin is a solid defender and generally knows where to be, but doesn't have the size, athleticism, or elite defensive instincts to really thrive as a defender. However, he has proven he can be solid enough on that end, particularly against second units, that if his hot offensive shooting can continue, he'll be able to get consistent minutes. He also has good steal and block rates and rebounds well for a wing on both ends of the court.
Martin is also already 25 years old, so there's a lack of upside that is somewhat concerning. Martin's best chance at proving that he's more than "just a guy" would be to improve his outside shooting, as doing so makes him more likely to contribute in lineups where he is the fifth option on offense.
Cap Considerations
Martin will be a restricted free agent with full Bird rights and a $2.2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. However, the Hornets may not tender him a QO, making him an unrestricted free agent. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents, but this will only come into play if the Hornets operate under the cap and use cap space, which is possible but unlikely.
Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Martin as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE to sign him to an offer sheet. There's also a chance that Martin ends up settling for the minimum. However, Martin being a restricted free agent could lower his interest among teams, as they will worry that the only way to pry him away from Charlotte would be to overpay him. This could cause Martin to settle for his Qualifying Offer if the Hornets play hard-ball.
Potential Teams: Pelicans, Hornets, Cavaliers, Heat, Bucks
Predicted Contract: 3-year, $15 million with the Pelicans
Actual Contract: 4-year, $31.4 million (4th year non-guaranteed) with the Hornets
I thought being a restricted free agent might cause Martin to struggle to get a sizeable offer, but he did well by getting a solid long-term offer to return to Charlotte.
Last updated: 7/10/2022
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