NBA rumors: 2 veterans 76ers don't want to trade
Yesterday at 12:57 PM
What will the Philadelphia 76ers do at the 2025 trade deadline? Unless they start racking up wins, they might have no choice but to recoup some assets by being sellers and tank in the hopes of keeping their top-six protected pick.
The Sixers surely want to make the playoffs this season but the uncertainty around Joel Embiid’s knee severely complicates their chances of winning, as does the team’s incapability to win consistently without him. If they decide to bottom out and add some assets for the future, they’ll have some voices to make with veterans like Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond. The former two seem safe from any other trades the team might make.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, KJ Martin is the most likely Sixer to be traded but the other Martin and Oubre are still seen as "key rotational pieces" by the team.
Scotto writes the following: "The top trade candidate for Philadelphia is KJ Martin, who re-signed to a two-year, $16 million contract, which is non-guaranteed for next season. Martin's nearly $8 million salary for this season was designed with potential trade candidates in mind elsewhere around the league, sources told HoopsHype. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin also have similar salaries but were both viewed as key rotational pieces heading into the season, and nothing has changed that stance since the start of the season."
76ers seem unlikely to trade Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr.
Coming into the season, Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. were widely seen as the most likely starters around the trio of Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. The emergence of Jared McCain has made the rookie a player they must start, so one of the two wings could become more expendable later on in the season. Right now, though, they'll play prominent roles.
Martin was signed to a four-year contract, so the 76ers clearly saw him as someone they wanted to keep for a while. He’s currently dealing with back issues and has shot the ball poorly but has still produced some nice moments because of his defense, passing and hustle.
Oubre, whose contract features a player option after this season, has made at least half his shot attempts four times in the last five games. However, he has been brutal as a three-point shooter, connecting on just 25.3 percent of his tries. Because of his deficiencies in defense and playmaking, he needs to score the ball effectively in order to help the Sixers start winning again.
Many players around the NBA will become eligible to be traded on December 15 and plenty more will be available a month from then. Some of the other likely trade candidates on Scotto’s list that would make sense for the 76ers (if they want to add talent) are Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson, Kenrich Williams, Maxi Kleber, Lonzo Ball and Donte DiVincenzo.
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