Before the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Dallas Mavericks, Kyle Neubeck reported that the KJ Martin couldn’t play because of a pending trade. Keith Pompey reported the next day that the Detroit Pistons had acquired Martin using their cap space.

Martin had been rumored to be on the block all season because the second year of his two-year, $16 million contract was non-guaranteed. However, the speculation stemmed from the notion that they could use it in a trade to add an upgrade to their rotation.

Instead, Martin was salary dumped, but why? Before Philadelphia traded Martin, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that they did this to aid their hopes of keeping Guerschon Yabusele, who has been mentioned in trade rumors, past this season.

“One high-priority move: Creating the optionality for Philadelphia to re-sign Guerschon Yabusele. The bruising French forward currently playing on a veteran’s minimum contract has drawn a wealth of trade interest from playoff contenders, but Philadelphia is eager to make sure his NBA comeback stays right where it has sprouted,” they wrote.

Despite everything that has gone wrong for the Sixers this season, signing Yabusele has proven to be one of the few moves that worked out even better than they could have hoped. He slotted in seamlessly as a quality power forward in their rotation. That’s why it would make sense for them to stop at nothing to keep him on the team.

Losing him for nothing this offseason would be hard for Philadelphia to endure after everything that’s happened. His play will likely earn him a pay raise this coming offseason.

The question will be whether the Sixers will be the team that gives it to him. After how well he has played, he will likely have plenty of suitors this offseason. By trading Martin away, Philadelphia has signaled that they intend to keep him no matter what it takes.

MORE SIXERS NEWS: 76ers key contributor Guerschon Yabusele breaks silence on looming trade rumors