NBA Rumors: 76ers forward quietly emerging as a trade candidate

Thanks to the James Harden trade, the Philadelphia 76ers now arguably have the widest pool of forwards in the entire association. The team has been able to maximize their depth for the most part, but it’s an indelible fact that there are simply too many mouths to feed in that regard.

Luckily, with the trade season now unofficially underway, the 76ers front office will now have an avenue to consolidate assets or liquidate some of their players via trade to free up some more spots on the team for players that can balance out the roster better. And of course, most eyes will be on how the team will manage their boatload of forwards who are on expiring deals and thus, should be easy to move.

NBA Rumors: 76ers forward KJ Martin is gaining some traction on the trade market

One of the players currently stuck in garbage-time duty is KJ Martin, who was one of the four forwards the 76ers acquired from the LA Clippers in the Harden mega-swap. Martin only appeared in two games for the Clippers after being cast as a prominent rotation piece in his first three years with the Houston Rockets.

Unfortunately for the soon-to-be 23-year-old, he’s continued to get sporadic minutes in Philadelphia, norming just 5.7 minutes per outing so far. That doesn’t project to change anytime soon with the slew of options Nick Nurse has in his veteran-favoring rotation, so the 76ers should make it a point to extract something for him when they can.

To that effect, it seems that Martin is luckily gaining some steam in the trade market, according to HoopsHype.

"Teams have expressed exploratory interest in forward KJ Martin, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in July. Despite a limited role since joining the 76ers, rival teams are intrigued after he averaged 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Rockets and played all 82 games last season."

- HoopsHype

Martin has barely suited up for meaningful action on the hardwood this season, but his Houston tenure gives some positive outlook. He’s a career 54.3 percent shooter who excels as a play finisher, especially in fast-paced configurations. His three-point shot is quite shaky at just 33.7 percent through four seasons, but he boasts some promise as an adequate two-way role player, even for a playoff team.

Ultimately, with KJ Martin unlikely to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers beyond this season, it will be for the best if the front office manages to find a taker for him while snagging some assets in return in any way, shape, or form.

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