FEBRUARY 6: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Sixers, who received cash considerations in the deal. Martin was acquired using the Pistons’ cap room and will be flipped to Utah as part of the Jimmy Butler multi-team trade, as we outlined in a separate story .
FEBRUARY 5: 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.