The Philadelphia 76ers probably did not even think that the biggest trade they made before the deadline could yield them a potential keeper for years to come, yet that is what exactly turned out to be for the franchise, giving the front office more than just cookie points they can cling onto amid a tough season.
Quentin Grimes, who was already playing well for Dallas, got sent packing to Philly which, in turn, sent Caleb Martin. Initially, the 76ers drew a lot of flak for dangling away a proven playoff contributor like Martin, but those premature takes definitely aged like milk.
At this point, no one is considering the Mavericks as the winners of that deal. Grimes has emerged as the team’s late-season star and a likely key player for years to come while Martin has barely even seen the hardwood for Dallas, which is now making an alarming realization the 76ers already knew so well.
The 76ers already saw this issue with Caleb Martin
So far, Martin has suited up in only six games for the Mavericks, giving his new team another headache to endure in the injury department. Dallas had already seemingly drawn the ire of the basketball gods, but things so not seem to be getting any better for them, either.
But aside from the fact that the 29-year-old has not seen much action for his enw ball club, it’s even more disappointing for them to discover his penchant for uber-slow starts, as one can draw from his current numbers.
In those six appearances, Martin had drained just 16.7 percent of his three-pointers — a huge decline from his 37.9 percent clip with the 76ers early in the season. While it’s probably too soon to make a sweeping pronouncement that he is a bad shooter, it is pretty reminiscent of what Philly had to endure with him to start the campaign.
76ers fans were immediately terrorized when Martin went on that eerie shooting slump to begin his stint with the franchise. He eventually regained his touch from three-point range, but not before haunting the team with his failure to drain open shots from rainbow country.
His dearth of shooting will probably be snapped with more on-court reps, but if the Mavericks want to make the playoffs, they cannot afford to have Martin shooting like a disparaged trigger man as he did early in the season for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The trade was already bad for Dallas, and Caleb Martin cannot make it worse than it already is.