While the Philadelphia 76ers continued their climb in the standings, a lot of teams were busy a few days back the moment the Dorian Finney-Smith sweepstakes gained significant steam. The Lakers eventually came out of that one as the eventual victors, leaving other bidders for the veteran forward’s services in the dust.
Finney-Smith, one of the hottest commodities in the trade market before Los Angeles acquired him from Brooklyn, has long been a plenty attractive target for most win-now clubs, including the 76ers. Now, the Nets are continuing their fire sale, meaning that the market should boast even more options for buyers in the near future.
For teams still needing reinforcements at the crucial forward positions, the open market is honestly not brandished with quality options that won’t require them to break the bank or part with vital assets. However, if they aim to double down on that route, then the 76ers could have something to offer that could entice prospective buyers.
Teams could trade for 76ers forward KJ Martin after failing to trade for Dorian Finney-Smith
As a byproduct of the post-DFS trade tidings, the 76ers can put up KJ Martin as an available option on the table for those teams. The 23-year-old has emerged as a pretty solid role player for Philadelphia this season, although he is currently out of commission with a minor injury.
Martin is not expected to miss much time, though, making him a viable target for squads in need of help at either forward positions. Formerly pegged as a mere trade chip, he has carved out a nice role for himself in the present campaign as the team’s resident energizer bunny off the bench thanks to his more polished offensive game and maturity on defense.
The young tweener has thrived in his limited role, averaging 6.4 points and three rebounds per outing on a blistering 61.6 percent shooting from the field, which includes a pleasantly surprising 38.1 percent success rate from beyond the arc, showcasing his improved range and hence, utility on offense.
Martin has improved so much that Philly is not going to just trade him for chump change. It would take something of actual use to get the conversation started on the forward, and the market condition allows the 76ers to perhaps ask for more and gouge his price tag a bit.
The Philadelphia 76ers can certainly offer KJ Martin for a price this season, and while seemingly counterproductive given how good he’s looked this season, it’s undoubtedly an opportunity for the front office to extract some more assets.