It is well known that Kevin Durant is going to be dealt by the Phoenix Suns, and it is more than likely going to happen this week. It is also well known that the Miami Heat are negotiating for him, and will likely win the bidding war as soon as they agree to include their rookie big man Kel’el Ware in negotiations, as he would be the best returning piece that the leverage-lacking Suns could get.
However, it also appears as though the Heat have their eyes on more than one Suns forward.
According to a report by Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line in their latest round of pre-draft news from around the NBA, the Heat are also interested in potentially acquiring six-year veteran Cody Martin, likely in a part of any Durant trade package but also potentially on his own. The Heat are among “several” teams interested in the 29-year-old forward, thought to be available on a disjointed Suns team who will sell off anything they can for value.
League sources say several teams have registered interest in the Suns’ Cody Martin. The veteran swingman could very well factor into any direct or multi-team deal that Phoenix inevitably puts together to ship out the NBA’s No. 8 all-time leading scorer. Miami, to name one example, is known to hold an affinity for Martin, sources say. The Heat certainly developed a familiarity for Martin while Miami rostered his twin brother Caleb.
Heat Already Once Had His Brother
As noted by Stein, Martin is the twin brother of Caleb Martin, a current member of the Dallas Mavericks who spent three years with the Heat between 2021 and 2024 and went from the fringes of the NBA to a valued playoff contributor in that time. Indeed, until Caleb was cut by the Charlotte Hornets and joined the Heat in the summer of 2021, the two had spent the entirety of both their college and professional careers on the same team together.
Whereas Caleb is more of the offensive player and shooter, Cody is the more versatile and impactful defensive presence. This does not lead to an easily-measurable impact; in 14 games with the Suns after his mid-season acquisition from the Hornets as a part of the larger trade for Jusuf Nurkic, Martin averaged only 3.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, with his positional sense, footwork, extra passes and good hands being hard to capture statistically. But it does get noticed by peers and coaches alike. And so despite being a bench player that even Kevin Durant admitted himself were “trash” this season, Martin has some value around the league.
Heading two
Martin has one more year on his contract for $8,680,000, a fair price for his services. Any team seeking to acquire him in a wider Durant deal, however, might find it difficult to make the math work.
With their 2025-26 payroll already having approximately $210 million committed, the Suns are going to have to contend with the NBA’s “second apron”. The second apron is a provision designed to make it hard for teams to go much over the salary cap, as, once they do so, they lose many of the ways to spend more money that teams under the second apron threshold can.
The NBAâs current official projections put the 2025-26 âsecond apronâ threshold at $207,824,000. As things stand, the Suns will have no wiggle room below that. Being over the second apron would prohibit the Suns from aggregating contracts nor trade multiple players in the same deal – that is to say, if they want to make a deal in which both Durant and Martin are traded away, they will have to do so by finishing under the second apron threshold.
It is possible to do this, but it is an added caveat that will make an already-difficult trade difficult. The Suns are running out of time, with suitors such as the San Antonio Spurs not willing to improve their offers and the draft quickly rolling around. They do not have the leverage to get the deal that they want. And so if teams such as Miami view the potential addition of Martin as a pot sweetener, the Suns may have to do it.
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