When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Caleb Martin to a four-year, $35 million contract in free agency, it appeared to be the icing on the cake of a stellar offseason. Not only did they reel in the biggest fish in the free-agent pond in Paul George, but they managed to land Martin despite having limited financial resources at their disposal.

Seven months later, Martin’s time in Philadelphia is over. The Sixers traded him to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday for Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick (the more favorable of the Sixers’ own or the Denver Nuggets’ pick).

In the wake of the stunning Luka Dončić trade, it’s easy to see why the Mavericks would prefer a veteran forward (Martin) over a fourth-year guard (Grimes), particularly after they acquired fellow guard Max Christie in the Dončić deal. The Sixers’ side of the trade could be far more illuminating when it comes to their intentions between now and Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

Are The Sixers Selling?

After Tuesday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Sixers are one game behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls just traded Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings over the weekend and could continue a fire sale over the next 36 hours, so the Sixers might have the inside track to the final spot in the East’s play-in tournament.

However, nearly 50 games into the season, the Sixers are nine games below. 500. They’re 4.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the East. Assuming they survive the play-in tournament, their best-case scenario is likely a first-round playoff matchup with either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics.

It thus wouldn’t make much sense for the Sixers to pursue short-term, win-now upgrades at the trade deadline. However, they owe their 2025 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of the top six, so they have less incentive to pull the ripcord on the season and join the race to the bottom of the standings.

The Martin trade at least suggests that they already have one eye on the future. They signed Martin in part because of his playoff experience—he was a key piece of the 2022-23 Miami Heat team that advanced to the NBA Finals—whereas Grimes has played only 242 career playoff minutes to date. If the Sixers expected to go on a deep run this season, they’d presumably prefer the veteran to the youngster.

However, if they’re pivoting to focus on the longer-term, there are a few reasons for them to prefer Grimes.

For one, this trade shaved nearly $4 million off their books this year. Grimes is earning only $4.3 million, while Martin was earning $8.15 million (and had an additional $1.2 million in unlikely-to-be-earned incentives). This trade helped them sneak under the first apron and reduced their luxury-tax bill by nearly $7 million.

The Sixers are now only $6.5 million about the $170.8 million luxury-tax line, so they could duck the tax entirely with another salary dump or two. (They reportedly have such a move in the works.) That would push back the clock on the repeater tax by another year—they wouldn’t be subject to it until 2028-29 at the earliest—and would give them more flexibility under the first apron.

Grimes is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, although few teams will be in position to throw him a hefty offer sheet. Even if one does, the Sixers will have the right to match any offer sheet he signs. There’s a decent chance that they’ll be able to re-sign Grimes at around the same price point of Martin, who’s nearly five years older and struggled to stay healthy during his lone season in Philadelphia.

What’s Next?

The Sixers don’t appear to be done with the Martin trade. KJ Martin (no relation to Caleb) is also reportedly on his way out of the City of Brotherly Love, as Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports first reported Tuesday night.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Sixers are currently “weighing multiple options” for Martin, whom they held out of Tuesday’s win over the Mavericks. Neubeck added that “financial flexibility” was expected “to be the headline of whatever return the Sixers get.”

Martin is in the first season of a two-year, $16 million contract that’s fully non-guaranteed in 2025-26. When the Sixers signed him to that above-market figure, it was clear that they planned to eventually trade him, although he figured to be salary-matching fodder in a bigger trade. If they wind up salary-dumping him just to avoid the luxury tax, it would be a fairly egregious waste of their limited remaining resources to improve their roster around their Big Three of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

George’s name has popped up in the rumor mill in recent days, although Neubeck reported Tuesday that those rumors “don’t appear to have much weight behind them” for now. Embiid isn’t trade-eligible until the offseason, and the Sixers likely wouldn’t move Maxey for more than a handful of players given how well he’s been playing lately. Those are the only three Sixers players earning $8 million or more this season, so the Sixers will largely be limited to minor moves if they don’t trade one of their Big Three.

Fischer added late Tuesday night that the Sixers are aiming to give themselves enough financial flexibility to re-sign Guerschon Yabusele this offseason and/or convert two-way rookie Justin Edwards to a standard contract. They likely would have been limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason had they stood pat, so they may be eyeing a way to gain access to the larger non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

While the Sixers aren’t officially waving the white flag on this season, trading Caleb Martin for a 24-year-old and potentially salary-dumping KJ Martin seems to send a clear signal about their priorities at the trade deadline. Rather than doubling down to salvage what’s left of this season, they’re seemingly pivoting their focus toward how best to set this core up for success in 2025-26.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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