On Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Caleb Martin to a four-year deal. It was a solid signing for a Philadelphia team that has been busy this offseason, most notably signing Paul George. After Martin’s contract details emerged though, it became fairly evident that he was an example of a NBA player fumbling the bag.
So Martin turned down 5 years 65 M from Heat, and then a week later settled for what ESPN said is 4 years topping 32 M from 76ers. Martin rep thought Heat offer wasn’t good enough, which dumbfounded Heat.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) July 6, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
If he truly was offered that deal by the Miami Heat, Martin lost out on $33 million on a contract that is just one year longer than the one he signed. He is not the first player to fumble the bag, and he won’t be the last. Here are other recent examples of NBA players fumbling the bag.
Caleb Martin And Other NBA Players That Fumbled The Bag
Victor Oladipo
Victor Oladipo was reportedly offered a four-year, $112 million extension to remain with the Indiana Pacers during the 2020-21 season. He wanted to be dealt though which happened when the Houston Rockets traded for him. The Rockets reportedly offered him a two-year, $45 million extension which he turned down. He was again traded to the Heat. Oladipo got hurt and ended up signing a veteran’s minimum deal in the offseason for about $2.4 million. Injuries have continued to bedevil him, and he sat out all of last season.
Dennis Schroder
The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly were ready to hand Dennis Schroder a four-year, $84 million extension during the 2020-21 season. It was turned down and he didn’t exactly capitalize with his next deal. In the Lakers first round matchup against the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 postseason, Schroder had three outings with at least 20 points, but one where he went scoreless. In the 2021 offseason, he instead signed a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics. He at least was able to poke fun at himself for fumbling the bag.
Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel’s fumbling of the bag was bad enough that it caused him to sue his agent at the time, Rich Paul. Mark Cuban had an offer of four years, $70 million for the center to return to the Dallas Mavericks in 2017. It seemed like a nice deal for Noel. After being traded to Dallas in February of 2017, he averaged 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 22 games for the team that season. That offer was rejected, and the final result was Noel eventually accepting the qualifying offer for $4.1 million. The lawsuit didn’t go in Noel’s favor either.
Shabazz Muhammad
Shabazz Muhammad was a scorer off the bench for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged double figures in scoring back-to-back seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16 (just missed out in 2016-17 at 9.9). The NBA famously had some crazy contract offers in the summer of 2016 as the salary cap skyrocketed. Minnesota reportedly offered Muhammad a four-year, $40 million extension. He declined, and the following summer, he signed for just two years, $3.4 million.
Muhammad lasted just one more season in the NBA after signing that deal. His playing time dropped precipitously with the Timberwolves as head coach Tom Thibodeau trusted him less. He was waived before signing with the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee waived him prior to the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
The post Caleb Martin And Other NBA Players That Fumbled The Bag appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.