The Philadelphia 76ers might have fumbled the bag on the trades they made this season, but they do deserve credit for one specific deal they pulled off last year — the move to acquire Quentin Grimes from the Mavericks. But aside from the fact that the team clearly got the better player in this exchange, the team managed to get a huge relief from the bad contract they got rid of in the process.
Yes, signing Caleb Martin to a four-year, $38 million deal ended up being a mistake. Thankfully, that is no longer their problem, as Dallas is now the one that has to deal with his overblown contract that is only going to age like milk moving forward given his waning production. Worse, they simply have no way out of this ordeal.
Martin’s deal runs through 2027-28 campaign. He will be making $10 million next season while having a player option worth around $9.3 million after 2026-27. That is certainly a tough spill to swallow for the Mavericks brain trust, especially as they aim to build a competitive roster around their new franchise centerpiece in Cooper Flagg and start making noise in the West.
The 76ers got very fortunate in getting rid of Caleb Martin and his disastrous contract
Grimes is a legitimate flight risk for the 76ers this offseason, which makes it a bit daring to definitively claim that they won this deal. After all, it is not out of the realm of reality that they could lose him for nothing. However, the mere fact that they were able to get away and eject themselves from bearing the burden of paying Martin that kind of money for the next two years is already a win in and of itself.
The veteran has gotten sporadic minutes with Dallas this season, and his production makes it feel justified, if we are being honest. In nearly 15 minutes per outing, has has turned in 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists a night. He has drained 35.1 percent of his three-pointers, but that feels insignificant given his low volume.
With the Mavs having PJ Washington, Max Christie and Naji Marshall on the roster around Flagg, it simply does not make much sense to give Martin consistent playing time. And to be fair, he has not done anything to make the coaching staff think hard about trotting him out on the regular.
As such, Dallas will definitely find it burdensome that they will have to keep paying role player money to someone who is not even good enough to get consistent court time. Fortunately, the 76ers found a way to unload this issue before they had to deal with it.