Caleb Martin is playing the best basketball of his Dallas Mavericks career as of late, and he is raising his trade value at the most optimal time. The NBA’s February 5 trade deadline is just over two weeks away, and if the Mavs are looking to move on from Caleb Martin, they are beginning to get some favorable performances that could intrigue rival teams to trade for the seventh-year wing.
With the Mavs’ place in the standings and plan to make Cooper Flagg the centerpiece of their rebuild, they need as many trade pieces as possible to reshape their roster. Martin’s recent play makes him a candidate to become a bargaining chip for Dallas to use in a bigger trade, and this seemed impossible earlier this season.
Over the last four games, Martin is averaging 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 65.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He has gone from unplayable to the Mavs’ starting wing, and Dallas has won all three games he’s started in.
Caleb Martin is finally looks like a real rotation piece
Mavericks fans would’ve never believed that Martin would one day become Jason Kidd’s starter after watching the way that his Mavs career began, but he is finally getting healthy and playing as he should. Martin stated that he feels “way better” now compared to how his body felt at the beginning of the season, and everything else is falling into place.
Martin’s confidence is what really set this strong stretch into motion, as he no longer looks terrified to shoot open looks and doesn’t refrain from attacking off the dribble. He is letting the game come to him, shooting good looks within the flow of the offense, and finishing strong in transition.
His defense has always been strong as a Maverick, dating back to last season, and he has only improved in that area as the season has progressed. Martin can effectively guard one through three due to his physicality, length, and quickness, and any team that needs a versatile wing defender should explore bringing him in.
He looks like an entirely different player from the one who was taking the court sparingly for the Mavs at the start of the season, and this surge could open the door to Dallas talking a team into taking on the remaining three years on his contract.
The Mavericks are in desperate need of flexibility as they begin the Cooper Flagg era, and Martin’s contract is holding them back from having it. He will be on their books until the end of the 2027-28 season if they can’t move off him, and Dallas needs to create some cap space to properly build around Flagg this summer. The trade market is the best way to do this, and the Mavericks could package salary for expiring contracts in an attempt to regain some room to maneuver.
Martin is in year two of a four-year, $35 million deal, and while this contract is undoubtedly a negative asset right now, he at least looks like an NBA player who can play real minutes. Dallas would be in heaven if they can find a way to offload his contract in a more significant trade, and his performances leading up to the deadline could determine how much value he ultimately has.
The Mavericks are shopping Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson in trades, and adding Martin to these potential deals could be the perfect avenue for them to start fresh and possibly free up some cap space for the summer. Dallas is prioritizing expiring contracts in any Anthony Davis trade that they make, and I can imagine that they are looking to do the same when moving off from Gafford and or Thompson as well.
Martin’s $9.6 million salary for this season could be exactly what the Mavs need to push a trade through, and he is finally looking tradeable with less than 40 games remaining in the regular season.
