What was recently an upward trend brewing for the Philadelphia 76ers may actually just be a big fluke. After logging an impressive month-long stretch in December, the team has kicked off the new calendar year in disappointing fashion, keeping them situated at 11th place in the suddenly jam-packed Eastern Conference.
The playoff race is starting to get pretty tight out East, meaning that the 76ers cannot solely depend on the fact that there are still a ton of games left to play. Their counterparts are catching steam at the best time of the season while they continue to flash their inconsistency on both ends of the court on a nightly basis.
Alas, given their underwhelming start to the season at large, Philadelphia is already counted on to bring the fireworks before the trade deadline. While the team has not yet moved an inch in that regard, Daryl Morey and company will definitely scout the market for much-needed upgrades to the roster, which also means that some players could already be playing their last few games for the franchise.
KJ Martin may actually not be the best trade bait for the 76ers
Lots of people, us included, expected the 76ers to heavily shop KJ Martin. After all, the widely believed notion was that the front office only re-signed him to the end that he could function as a useful trade bait given the malleable scale of his contract.
But to everyone’s surpises — albeit, the pleasant kind — Martin has blown away expectations for Philly this season. While he is currently sidelined due to injury, he was one of the most productive players in the rotation, a stark contrast from his near-cameo fitting from the previous campaign.
As a result, Martin may not anymore be deemed as the 76ers’ go-to trade bait this season. He has improved by leaps and bounds and has emerged as a potential key role player for the team even beyond this year.
Who, then, could be considered as the best trade bait for Philadelphia? For now, either Kelly Oubre Jr. or Caleb Martin could carry that billing. Both players, similarly in bargain deals, started the season pretty slowly before starting to regain their usual form.
There are also the draft picks that the front office managed to collect via trade. After all, it makes much mroe sense for an intensely win-now team like the 76ers to be willing to leverage their draft capital to net some ready-to-win commodities.
In effect, the Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of options to use as trade bait before the deadline. However, if there’s anything certain, it’s that everyone should not look at KJ Martin as the “must-trade” guy anymore.
He’s already way beyond that.