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The 2024-2025 NBA season doesn’t mark the first run in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform for KJ Martin, but the Bahamas trip was his first chance to prep for the new hoops year with Nick Nurse and the Sixers.
Around this time last season, Martin was anticipating a fresh start with the Los Angeles Clippers after spending a few seasons with the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers stint would last just a few games. On Halloween, the Sixers and the Clippers struck a trade, which swapped several players from each side. Martin ended up in the deal, landing with the Sixers on the final season of his contract.
With the Sixers, Martin appeared in 58 games last season. He had a limited role, averaging 12 minutes off the bench. By the time the playoffs rolled around, Martin was on the outside of Nurse’s rotation. At that point, it was fair to question whether Martin would return to the team in free agency or not.
The young veteran could weigh his options back in July, as he became free to speak to any interested suitor. In the end, he landed back with the 76ers.
According to reports, Martin inked a two-year contract. He anticipates making over $15 million during that stint. While many speculate Martin’s contract could be a key trade asset in the future, the Sixers aren’t overlooking the veteran forward.
There is an opportunity for Martin to earn an everyday role in Nurse’s rotation.
So far, he’s on the right path.
“He’s had a really good camp,” Nurse said of Martin last week. “One of the guys that I’ve been pleasantly surprised with.”
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One week of practice and multiple preseason games won’t solidify Martin’s role. Nurse wants to see the veteran forward continue to progress at what he’s already thrived with in the past, but there is also an expectation of Martin expanding his game.
Over the summer, Martin focused heavily on becoming a deep-threat shooter. When he was on the Rockets, most of his production came at the rim. During his final run in Houston, Martin attempted over 75 percent of his field goals within three f eet of the basket. After spending the summer working on his shot, Martin leaves Nurse intrigued about his potential improvement.
“He really had a big summer working on his shooting. I guess he reconstructed some things,” Nurse continued. “It looks better. It looks like it’s going in a lot more in the charted stuff that we do. It’s also going in a lot more in the scrimmaging and stuff that we do, too.”
The offseason is going well for Martin so far, but there is a lot to prove.
“There are kind of levels to that. You can make them in the summer, can you make them in the fall, can you make them in the spring, can you make them in the playoffs? We’ll see what level he’s at,” Nurse finished.
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Happy birthday to the late Los Angeles Lakers and NBA legend Kobe Bryant! Originally drafted by the Charlotte Hornets out of high school in 1996, he was traded on draft night to the Lakers for big man Vlade Divac. Bryant gave the Lakers 20 seasons, making 18 All-Star teams, 15 All-NBA nods, five NBA titles, two scoring titles, two Finals MVP awards and one regular season MVP. Which brings us to today's quiz. When Bryant retired after the 2015-16 season -- going out with a historic 60 points (on 50 shots from the field). With that being said, how many of the all-time leading scorers for every NBA franchise can you name in five minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Jets coaches try to calm situation in wake of Justin Fields' comments
According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, New York Jets starting quarterback Justin Fields did not throw a pass that traveled 10 yards in the air during his two preseason appearances. Some have voiced concerns about the Jets' passing attack with Fields in the lineup, but he insisted while speaking with reporters on Tuesday that he's "fine with taking eight-yard completions every play." On Wednesday, Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand addressed Fields' comment. "He's going to play the play the way the defense allows him to play it," Engstrand said about Fields, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. "So if they're going to allow him to take a shot down the field, he's going to take it. If they don't allow him, he's going to check the ball down, and we'll move on to the next play. We're all good with that." Fields completed just one of five passes for four yards in the Jets' 31-12 loss to the New York Giants on Saturday. According to Fox Sports, he connected on four of nine pass attempts for 46 yards across his first two preseason appearances of the summer. Despite such lackluster numbers, first-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn suggested on Tuesday that he is ignoring "the noise that happens on the outside" regarding the team's passing offense. On Wednesday, Jets passing game coordinator Scott Turner praised Fields for knowing when to take a checkdown and when to challenge an opposing defense. "I think you've seen a lot of quarterbacks in this league, Josh Allen pops into mind, who really cut down his turnovers last year and won MVP by not always trying to make the big huge play, but make the right play. Justin has done a nice job with that," Turner said. ESPN stats show that Fields averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt over six starts and 10 appearances with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Per Pro Football Reference, 22 qualified quarterbacks had a better yards per pass attempt average for the 2024 campaign. Dan Graziano of ESPN noted Wednesday that the $10M guaranteed that the Jets owe Fields for 2026 "won't prevent them from" looking for an upgrade at the position next year if he doesn't make "a major leap as a passer." It's still early into this experiment, but there's no sign that such a leap is coming anytime soon.
Charles Barkley Drops Truth Bomb On LeBron James’ Potential Move Away From Lakers
Charles Barkley is known for saying the cold, hard truth when it comes to analyzing the game of basketball. If he thinks you’re good, or even if he thinks you’re bad, he’s going to say something about it, and he’s not going to hold back. He did no different upon analyzing the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers and their relationship with LeBron James, professing that it’s not his team anymore. The Lakers and LeBron are like a match made in heaven. He’s the biggest star in the sport, and the team is the most popular brand in the sport. They just go together hand in hand, and it makes sense. But if you know Barkley, you know that he hates talking about the Lakers right now. Mainly because he thinks that they aren’t good enough to be worthy of being talked about so much. He’ll regularly sandbag segments in recent seasons where his show, NBA on TNT, will talk about them. Barkley did no different when talking about the Lakers in his most recent interview, pointing out that the team hasn’t been successful in quite a while. “LeBron is going to have to move on at some point. I mean, it is what it is. You know, he’s been there, even though he’s been putting up good numbers; they haven’t been successful in probably 4 years,” Barkley pointed out on The BetMGM Network. It’s not like the Hall of Famer said anything that was non-factsaual. The Lakers struggled mightily before this past season. Ever since winning the bubble championship in 2020, they’ve had two coaching changes and only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once. That all changed this past year when Luka Doncic was traded to the team at the deadline. The Lakers never looked back after the acquisition, going on a winning record and taking their division crown for the first time since ‘20. Even though they were bounced in the first round yet again, they promptly locked up Luka, and good times should be ahead for the franchise. That’s when Barkley dropped the hard-hitting truth for Lakers fans, professing that Luka is the new franchise centerpiece. “It’s probably already Luka’s team now. You don’t sign, trade for Luka Doncic, give him all that money, and it’s not his team,” Barkley said. Chuck is completely right. Luka seems to be LA’s new go-to guy for the time being. That doesn’t mean that LeBron isn’t a key piece of the team that they will need to succeed. But it does mean that he won’t be the face of a franchise for the first time in his career. Is LeBron hampering the Lakers, though? He is on the books for $52 million as the team’s highest-paid player. But it’s really hard to say that The King would ever drag down a roster because of his contract. At the end of the day, he’s one of the GOATs, and he’s worth it. However, one thing is for sure: LeBron is far past his prime, and the Lakers need to set realistic goals for the upcoming season. It would be great to have a storybook ending to his time in LA, going on a title run. But it’s hard to envision that happening. Albeit a few new faces, the Lakers are bringing back a lot of their roster from last year. Even though they won the Pacific division, the Minnesota Timberwolves humbled them in the first round of the playoffs. So, it’s going to take a major turnaround to get over the first-round hump. Barkley also mentioned that other teams in the West got better. Especially, the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. Plus, the OKC Thunder are still a menacing presence, and the Timberwolves are also still looming. We’ll see if LeBron and Luka can make magic together and defy all expectations. But as of now, Barkley is right. The Lakers feel like a 45-win team that will be battling to avoid the play-in tournament. That doesn’t mean that The King isn’t worth the money, though, as he gives them the best shot at competing for a title. It just means that there might be other, more interesting teams to talk about.
Green Bay Packers: Malik Willis Gets Incredible Take From Matt LaFleur After Seahawks Game
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