How undrafted Caleb Martin defines the Hornets’ swing to long-term development
Not that it changes anything, but Charlotte Hornets rookie Caleb Martin is glad the NBA fessed up Tuesday.
Martin was called for a key foul in Monday’s double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He blocked Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter’s 3-point attempt, but was whistled for a foul after the block. That sent Hunter for the three free throws that became Atlanta’s winning points.
The league’s last-two-minute report said Martin’s contact with Hunter’s arm was incidental, and the foul shouldn’t have been called.
“It made me feel a little better, but what we can we do about it now?” Martin said Wednesday morning. “I didn’t think I was that close to hitting him. I knew I touched the ball and I thought I’d keep going past him.”
When you’re in Martin’s position — an undrafted rookie — the last thing you need is to make clutch-time mistakes. Martin has gone from a summer project, to a starter for the Greensboro Swarm, to a Hornets rotation piece. Monday, he played 36 minutes, scored a career-high 23 points and shot 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
He has won over Hornets coach James Borrego, who was already sold on Martin’s twin brother, Cody, a Hornets second-round pick. Caleb is the better shooter of the two twins, who grew up in Mocksville, while Cody is the more refined defender.
“For him to make it in this league, he’s going to have to make that 3-ball,” Borrego described. “He was really good offensively — attacked the rim, played with great pace, moved the ball. And he competes defensively. I’ve got Cody a little bit ahead of him defensively right now — that’s why we drafted him — but Caleb’s got the same length and size and tenacity.
“He’s got good instinct, defensively. Cody has great instinct defensively.”
Raise the temperature
The Martins are part of a focused plan by Borrego and general manager Mitch Kupchak to do better with player acquisition and development outside the first round. Starting point guard Devonte Graham is the star of that group, but the Martins and second-round pick Jalen McDaniels are all now in the rotation.
The Hornets invested in the development structure, hiring specialist Nick Friedman to shadow young players back-and-forth to Greensboro, hoping to speed development. It’s paying dividends.
“We’re not drafting these guys to stash them, we’re drafting to develop them,” Borrego said, adding the search is for high-character workers. “In the second round, you’re taking chances on some guys. But if they fit our culture, there’s a good chance that they hit. Not all will hit. but you want to keep taking swings.”
The Martins weren’t obvious NBA talents, but they had pluses: Smart guys who were coached in college by a former NBA head coach (Eric Musselman, then at Nevada), and an intensity about the way each played.
Almost immediately in the fall, veterans Marvin Williams and Nic Batum noticed both Martins were quick learners and raised the temperature of practice with how hard they played.
With Cody hurt part of the preseason, Caleb got game time and impressed sufficiently that the Hornets converted his two-way contract to a regular contract — a clear sign he was viewed as a keeper.
Synergy
While Cody was mostly in Charlotte, Caleb got heavy G-League minutes in Greensboro. Then, Hornets veterans Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist accepted buyouts, moving Caleb Martin and McDaniels up to the Hornets last month.
The synergy between how they were coached in Greensboro and what the Hornets do made this surprisingly seamless.
“When you keep going over the same type of situations — whether it’s me coming off a pick-and-roll or Jalen getting in the mid-post — things will get stuck to your mind and that’s when it carries over,” Caleb said.
There are contrasts between the Martins, as far as what they do best. But Caleb said the similarities are more important to their NBA futures.
“People thought the biggest thing I’d do coming out of college was try to score right away,” Caleb Martin said. “Obviously, that’s something (Borrego) needs me to do, but there’s a time and place.
“He expects me to bring energy and defensive intensity for 94 feet. Create havoc on the defensive end, and run calm and smooth as I can on the offensive end.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 3:16 PM with the headline "How undrafted Caleb Martin defines the Hornets’ swing to long-term development."
