Just like that, the Philadelphia 76ers finally dropped the hammer on one of their prime trade candidates. Not long after landing him in free agency with a massive bargain, the team has now moved on from Caleb Martin who goes to Dallas via a one-on-one player swap.
According to ESPN Senior Insider Shams Charania, the 76ers will receive Quentin Grimes and while also recouping their 2025 second-round pick from the Mavericks. Interestingly, this comes just before both team meet up tonight on the hardwood.
There is still a lot left to unpack here, but the 76ers trading Martin is hardly a surprise. The veteran has not panned out as expected this season, and Philly is now on the lookout for players that can offer more upside.
The 76ers unsurprisingly trade Caleb Martin after his slow start to the season
Grimes, just 25 years old, was posting a strong season for Dallas in the present campaign, logging nightly averages of 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 46.3 percent shooting from the field, which includes a solid three-point shooting clip at 39.8 percent.
The young wing clearly offers a higher ceiling individually for the 76ers than Martin, who definitely took a lot of time to acclimate to the team dynamic in Philly. As a result, that the front office preferred to go younger and invest more for the future by swapping a veteran commodity for a young player should be a good move, even on the surface.
Philly will certainly miss Martin’s acuity on the defensive end and his reliable touch as a connector on offense, but Grimes would be able to pack more of a scoring punch. And with the 76ers needing more ammunition on the backcourt, as well as second-unit scoring, this is a very welcome move for the team.
This one is admittedly pretty sudden, though. The Mavs have just pulled off a nuclear trade involving Luka Doncic, and now, they seem poised to accelerate their winning cause this season by going after win-now players like Martin to help them get better positioning in the tight playoff race out West.
For now, the Philadelphia 76ers would have to adjust on the fly given their current slate of games, but aas the trade deadline comes closer, fans should get a clerer idea on how this team would look like ahead of their playoff push in the coming months.