The Charlotte Hornets have had an eventful start to their NBA offseason. First, Charlotte selected center Mark Williams with the 15th pick in the NBA Draft in June. Then, the Hornets were thrown a curveball when forward Miles Bridges, who enjoyed a breakout season ahead of his restricted free agency, was arrested for domestic violence the night before the NBA's free agency period opened.
With Bridges' future uncertain, the Hornets made a move to re-sign one of their own on Saturday. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that free agent forward Cody Martin has agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract with Charlotte.
Restricted free agent Cody Martin has agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal to return to the Charlotte Hornets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2022
It's a big payday for Martin, who was paid $1.7 million in 2021-22. However, the 26-year-old certainly earned the lucrative deal, as he enjoyed the best season of his three-year career.
Martin averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the three-point line in 71 contests. Each of those marks were career-highs for the NC State and Nevada product.
Martin will be especially important in 2022, given Bridges' uncertain future. The Hornets are expected to withdraw their qualifying offer for the talented forward- and it's unclear if he'll even be suiting up on the court next year.
As such, Charlotte likely felt even more of a need to get Martin to sign the dotted line in their first move of the NBA free agency period.
With a new head coach in Steve Clifford, who coached the team from 2013 to 2018, back with the team, Charlotte will look to build on their first winning season since 2015-16.
Martin will be a part of that quest.
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