The Philadelphia 76ers may have gotten off to an unprecedented start, albeit for the worst reasons, but there's no denying that the team had some of the most eventful offseason moves in the league. There was the Paul George signing, which got them equal puzzlement and acclaim, yet there were also a handful of other additions that gave fans and pundits alike renewed hope in the team as a legitimate contender heading into the season.
Examples include the 76ers somehow managing Kelly Oubre Jr. to take another discount to stay in Philly, drafting breakout star Jared McCain outside the lottery, and inking Guerschon Yabusele to a one-year, prove-it deal that he has undeniably been acing thus far.
But aside from those moves, another noteworthy maneuver they took during free agency was snagging Caleb Martin off the free agency market, stripping the Miami Heat, a key rival of theirs, one of their most stable contributors in the last few seasons.
The 76ers may have been mistaken about Caleb Martin
The Martin signing was widely proclaimed as one of the best bargain deals of the entire summer –– the forward, after all, was a key player for Miami, especially during their Finals run in 2023. He even flirted with winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP plum over Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Ultimately, with the Heat pulling the offer they extended to Martin, which was declined, the 76ers were able to snatch him for much less.
At this juncture, however, Martin has been outright disappointing. Through 20 games, the 29-year-old has averaged just 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on a subpar 40.5 percent shooting from the field, including a meager 29.4 percent conversion rate from downtown –– all these in 29.1 minutes per contest.
Martin has been so subliminal offensively that he has been dropped from the starting lineup. For now, Nick Nurse seems content having him as a bench stabilizer, a role that hopefully would serve his skill set better.
But right now, he has been a negligible addition. He has not been as good of a conector as advertised, and his defense has also not been up to par, though that could be tossed up to him having to cover more ground than before on the perimeter. Most glaring, however, is his complete ineffectiveness as a floor spacer, so much that defenses are starting to become comfortable letting him hoist up threes.
There is still a lot of basketball to be played and time for him to prove himself, but so far, the Philadelphia 76ers have been wrong about Caleb Martin. Hopefully, the veteran can turn it up as the season progresses, and as the team starts to rack up more wins.