Sixers Forward Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest

After acquiring multiple rotations players in the James Harden trade, The Philadelphia 76ers are now one of the deepest teams in the league. Despite one of the new additions not getting much playing time, they are still gaining trade interest around the league.

During a recent column for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto broke down trade candidates for every NBA team. When discussing the Sixers, he brought up multiple players. Among the group mentioned was young forward K.J. Martin. Scotto reported that teams are interested in trading for him following an impressive early stretch of his career. 

"Teams have expressed exploratory interest in forward KJ Martin, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in July, league sources told HoopsHype. 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."

Martin was traded to the Clippers during the offseason in the five-team deal that landed the Rockets Dillon Brooks. He spent the first three years of his career in Houston, where he showed he was an exciting young prospect. 

Since coming over from the Clippers, Martin hasn't gotten much run with the Sixers. In his first nine games, he's played a total of 54 minutes. In that span, he's tallied 10 points and nine rebounds. 

With Martin set to become a free agent this summer, Martin makes sense as a trade candidate for the Sixers. There is no real road to playing time for him on this team, and he might be the most enticing player they'd realistically throw in a deal. At 22 years old, he's still young enough that a team might want to take a flier on him. 

If Daryl Morey does decide to make moves at the deadline to upgrade the roster before the postseason push, Martin will certainly be a key name to watch. His contract is small, but he could be a throw-in to help facilitate a deal to upgrade in other areas.