The Sixers are trading forward KJ Martin and a pair of second-round picks to the Pistons, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
According to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), Philadelphia is sending Detroit a 2027 second-rounder via Milwaukee, as well as Dallas’ 2031 selection.
Martin, 24, was listed as out on Tuesday due to trade pending. Subsequent reports indicated that he was expected to be moved on Wednesday, which has now come to fruition.
Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Pistons are expected acquire Martin using their room exception. The room exception is worth $7,983,000 in 2024/25, while Martin makes just under that total ($7,975,000).
Detroit would have to use its remaining $14MM in cap space before dipping into the room exception, so this presumably won’t be the only trade the team makes. This deal suggests the front office is focused more on the future than the present, but it’s possible Detroit could thread the needle and find win-now help while still acquiring draft assets in the process.
The No. 52 pick of the 2020 draft, Martin spent his first three NBA seasons in Houston prior to being traded to the Clippers in a five-team deal in the 2023 offseason. He only played two games for Los Angeles, having been sent to Philadelphia in November 2023 as part of the James Harden blockbuster.
After playing a modest role for the Sixers in 2023/24, Martin re-signed with the club on a two-year, $16MM deal that was widely viewed as being completed for future trade purposes. The second year is fully non-guaranteed, so the high-flying forward certainly isn’t a lock to remain with Detroit going forward.
However, since the 76ers have struggled in ’24/25 – they currently sit outside of the East’s play-in tournament at 20-29 – they ended up dumping Martin’s contract instead of using it as a way to try and improve the roster, making the decision to bump up his salary last summer look like a mistake in retrospect.
As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (Twitter link), by shedding Martin’s salary and completing a separate trade with Dallas on Tuesday, the 76ers have saved $40MM+ when accounting for payroll, tax payments and dipping below the luxury tax line. They’ll now receive a tax distribution valued at roughly $12-14MM instead of being a taxpayer.
Since they’re well below the first tax apron, they’ll also be able to add players on the buyout market, regardless of the player’s pre-waiver salary.
Martin hasn’t seen action since Dec. 23 due to a foot injury. He has appeared in 24 games this season (seven starts), averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game.
Nice off-season signing Morey. It actually costs us picks to trade him. Please fire him
Trust the processed CHEESE! What a constant-cluster Phila is.
3.5 points better than opponents, 9 points better overall per 100 possessions with him on the floor
Never used him right; the story of his career so far
hold up this is a wild weird trade they must be about to trade PG to the Warriors for more players
Yeah second trade they did to cut salary (Caleb for grimes). Might be making space for a bigger trade.
Getting under the apron gives them more options
Fire MOREY…
What the heck? Now I’m really questioning this guy…
Morey is clueless…dude is still stealing money from the sixers
Would be surprised if they trade Embiid. They could have showcased Embiid last night to show he can still play when healthy. Not saying it will happen but hey, Luka is in LA now so take it with a big grain of salt.
Embiid can’t be traded this year…
Oh my bad. But the Sixers dumping salary shows they may blow it up. Maybe just not involving Embiid.
Man it’s such a bizarre world to be in now as a Pistons fan, having an actual professional and competent head coach and front office.
Even the deals Langdon has made that could be questioned at the time have worked out well, specifically the Grimes for Hardaway Jr deal, as Grimes would have been a bit redundant with Thompson/Holland, and Hardaway’s outside shooting as helped unlock Cade while giving a young team a legitimate veteran presence (versus having old guys who just can’t play and are more concerned with ‘getting theirs’ to stay in the league).
It’s good to have Detroit back as a competent franchise again. View the last few years as a temporary setback haha
Smart moves by the Sixers. Gotta make sure multi billionaire Harris and his pals get more cash rather than actually putting out a quality team while charging exorbitant prices for tickets. Have to find money somewhere for their new unnecessary arena. What a guy.
lol with the way Morey spend money last off season. I wouldn’t give him another dime of my money for this roster. Morey is the problem not Harris.
Who or what are the Sixers getting back?
The fact that it hasn’t been reported yet suggests it’ll be nothing of value.
Which makes sense… Just odd to see a trade reported without saying what both sides receive…
I’m guessing it’s a salary dump so they are giving the Pistons two second round picks to take his contract off their books.
It’s to get a reset by going under the second apron which is immensely punitive for teams that go over it 2 times in 4 years. For example, if you do that then your first round pick cannot be traded and automatically moves to the last pick of the first round. Teams like the Suns operating way over that threshold even with a rich owner won’t be able to survive doing it. It even restricts what kind of trades you can make.
They were never even close to the 2nd apron let alone over it. This gets them under the luxury tax.
Like I said in the other thread end of the bench role player. Even less than a salary dump, they had to attach picks to him.
Has never been used right; was actually what they needed, and he played well, but then he was just back in the shadow realm
He reminds me of Aaron Gordon. Just has to be used better, or at all