It was a surprising move for some people when former Miami Heat star Caleb Martin signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason. It was even more shocking knowing that Martin could have made more with the Heat than with the 76ers in the aftermath of the situation as the forward speaks about the contract debacle with both teams.

Martin makes his return to Miami Monday night as the Heat host the 76ers, which marks a “bittersweet” reunion for the forward who had productive years with the South Florida team, even being one vote away from 2023 Eastern Conference Finals MVP.

Caleb Martin speaks on how “timing” ruined a Heat reunion

Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) drives for a shot against the New York Knicks during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

However, he would confirm via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that Miami offered a $65 million contract over five years but instead took Philadelphia's deal of a four-year contract with $35 million guaranteed that could reach $40 million with bonuses.

However, Martin would credit “timing” with the contract situation as he and his agent felt that he would have been offered more money in free agency. Miami couldn't offer the same deal in the free agency period to keep them from surpassing the dreaded second apron; they would have had Martin opt into his $7.1 million player option before the June 29 deadline.

This would have been the cap hit for the current season for Martin, which the bigger money would go into effect later.

“It was a timing thing. That’s what it was,” Martin said. “The decision had to be made before I even had a chance to decide on anything else. That decision coming back here had to be made first without even getting a chance to go into free agency. All you can do is go based off the information that you get back and based off your representation. Whatever information you get back, you kind of make those decisions.”

There is no doubt that Martin is still appreciative of what was accomplished during his time with Miami as per The Miami Herald, the ideal outcome would be to stay with them.

Caleb Martin returns to play the Heat on Monday night

However, the gamble to get a bigger deal didn't pay off as he doesn't blame his agent, saying that “nobody has a crystal ball.”

“You try to make the best decision and sometimes you don’t know how those decisions shake out or whatever until you got to go through it,” Martin said. “Obviously, you have people in your corner and people that you listen to, and you try to make the best judgment that you can make based on the information that you have. I was confident in putting that trust in that and believing the right decision would be made. Ultimately, I think I’m where I’m supposed to be. I think things happen for a reason.”

“Nobody has a crystal ball,” Martin continued. “At the end of the day, nothing gets approved without me giving the OK, ultimately. That’s stuff that you live and you learn. Obviously, it hurts because of all the memories and everything that comes with this and there’s obviously money left on the table. But I think there are also other aspects of the decision and how things shook out that was a good thing, and that I might have had to move on.”

At any rate, while former teammates on Miami will look to embrace Martin in his return, they are making sure it ends in a win as it takes place Monday night. The Heat are hungry for a win after losing to the Indiana Pacers Sunday night.