The Philadelphia 76ers tallied another loss in their most recent game, bringing their losing streak to five games. They now find themselves 10 games below .500, and at this point, it would be such a huge shocker if they still find a way to crack the playoff picture in the suddenly 10-team deep Eastern Conference.
Their upcoming schedule will not be very forgiving, either. 11 of their next 12 games will come against teams currently touting a winning record, and given that the 76ers have been absolutely terrible against teams at or above .500, that could very well be a death knell to their already miserable campaign.
The prevailing sentiment as of the moment is that Philly should seriously consider punting this season by tanking and just looking forward to the next. While certainly a risky proposition given that the do not have full control over their draft pick this year, it is the only direction that can truly move the needle for them in the future.
The 76ers should trade Caleb Martin given this latest emergence
One thing the front office can do to at least make this season count in some way is to extract assets out of their players. A certain player who should warrant this treatment is Caleb Martin, who has struggled for the most part for the 76ers this season.
After serving as a meaningful role player for the Heat in recent years, the 29-year-old has become a figure of inconsistency for the squad. While he has since found his shooting stroke after basically forgetting how to shoot at the beginning, the team has not gotten what they though they would get from the switchy veteran.
The emergence of Justin Edwards, who clearly has a higher ceiling than Martin as a player, should incentivize the 76ers front office to actively seek buyers for the latter’s services. Fortunately, he is on a pretty discounted deal, making him an attractive get for teams needing a reinforcement on the wings without having to break the bank.
While Edwards is still a project at this point, Philadelphia would be better off giving him as much run as possible this season. That way, they can nurture a potential contributor for years to come without having to resort to older commodities and lofty price tags.
The Philadelphia 76ers do not have much to play for this season, but the front office has some options to at least make it productive. Trading Caleb Martin for assets is one savvy move they could pull off, especially with Justin Edwards on his way to becoming a real NBA-level contributor.