Daryl Morey and the entire Philadelphia 76ers front office did a tremendous job this offseason. In a short span, they managed to catapult the franchise near the top of the league's pecking order as they now enter the 2024-25 NBA season as a legitimate championship contender with a solid shot at snapping a four-decades-long title drought.
With Paul George joining Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to form a vaunted Big Three, the 76ers do have a bit of a top-heavy payroll. That could make things trickier in the aspect of roster-building for the short-term, but it also means that the front office will need to get ultra-creative moving forward –– something they already did this summer with these players operating on below-market rates. Here are the four most underpaid players on the team next season.
4. The 76ers got tremendous value with Caleb Martin
Philadelphia snatching Caleb Martin from Miami was one of the bigger shockers in free agency. The versatile wing was a near-lock to stay in South Beach before he and his camp miscalculated the franchise's offer, resulting in him settling for much less with the 76ers to the tune of four years and $32 million.
By default, Martin will be one of, if not the most underpaid starting-caliber players in the entire NBA not counting rookies. As of the moment, he is expected to be part of the starting lineup, bolstering the team's forward rotation alongside George without the normally significant cost.
While quite undersized at forward, Martin thrives as a utility guy on both ends of the court –– a role he notably thrived in as part of the Heat. He is a respectable three-point shooter and keeps the ball moving thanks to his uncanny skill at attacking closeouts. Defensively, he's pretty malleable, capable of adequately slowing down most non-post operators.