Mavericks' polarizing veteran reclaims value after crushing banishment

Caleb Martin has now played in 50 games for the Dallas Mavericks following Dallas' win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, yet Martin hadn't scored in double figures once during the first 48 of those contests. However, Martin has put together a 15-point and 14-point performance, respectively, in back-to-back games at the American Airlines Center the last two evenings, and this could mean he's regaining the trust of fans and head coach Jason Kidd after being bounced from the rotation.

Obviously, two games is a very small sample size, but Martin has played better in his last 52 minutes for the Mavericks than he had at any point since last season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Martin will be paid out $9.5 million this season when it's all over, and he's due roughly $19 million over the next two seasons in the league if he accepts his player option in 2027-28, so it's without a doubt that he was trending toward one of the worst contracts in the league given how bad his offense has been.

In the last two games, Martin has scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out nine assists, and snagged six steals. Martin has also shot 3-4 from outside, which is huge considering he came into Thursday night as a sub-17 percent 3-point shooter. With Martin's production on offense increasing so much over the last two games, it's given him more run and leeway to showcase his point-of-attack defense and rebounding from the wing position.

Caleb Martin may finally be turning the corner in Dallas

It's still pretty unlikely Dallas finds a trade for Martin unless they trade him in aggregate with other players or assets, but it's a huge positive if this sort of play continues from him. The Mavericks were so far on the other side of the tipping scale from the Martin-Quentin Grimes trade that it seemed like Dallas would simply have to assume Martin as a negative asset till they could get him off their books, which didn't appear like it would be anytime soon until these last two games.

Martin had been dealing with a hip strain when he arrived in Dallas last season, and had previously been dealing with a shoulder issue, so perhaps this factored into him getting confident in his shot again. Those are obviously crucial body parts in terms of the mechanics of a jump shot, and Martin's jumper has looked wonky at times since being in Dallas.

Teammate Naji Marshall recently praised Martin for fighting through adversity amidst his recent performances, and if these injuries were lingering from last season, this could be what Marshall was referencing. Martin has also been flying around the court in transition and as a driver, as he's playing with as much energy as he has since being in Dallas on both sides of the ball over the past two games.

Again, Dallas will still probably be hard pressed to trade Martin ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, as he'd need to continue playing excellent for the next three straight weeks to turn into a positive asset by then, but him coming back into form is nothing but a huge win, and couldn't come at a more perfect time with how depleted Dallas is because of injuries right now.

Martin still needs to prove more over a longer stretch to really up his value, but he's playing well enough to warrant another crack in Kidd's rotation right now, even if Dallas were healthier. If Martin can play even 60-70 percent to the level he has in these past two games for the rest of the season, he could undoubtedly be a huge trade candidate for the Mavericks this summer or next season, or could even be a key veteran on the team for the next two seasons.