76ers free agent signing Caleb Martin, who is willing to make a big sacrifice for a shot at the title

The Philadelphia 76ers understood the task this summer. After falling to the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference last spring due to injuries and being eliminated in the first round by the New York Knicks, the Sixers realized that they were all but getting reigning All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in free agency Agency had to make table. And by and large, that's exactly what they did.

It should come as no surprise that the most important deal of the summer — not just for Philadelphia, but for everyone — in terms of a player move was the team: the Sixers' four-year, $211.6 million offer they made to the nine-time All-American star offered combo forward Paul George, effectively luring the 6-foot-1 Fresno State product away from his hometown Los Angeles Clippers.

But George wasn't the only new addition or returning player that Philadelphia team president Daryl Morey was able to bring in.

The team signed longtime former Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin to a four-year, $35 million contract. For some reason, Philadelphia also signed reserve center Andre Drummond, veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon, winger KJ Martin, forward Guerschon Yabusele and point guard Reggie Jackson.

Read more: The 76ers continue to add and land a veteran forward in free agency

Among the returning players, Philadelphia brought back Maxey to a max contract in restricted free agency and extended Embiid. The Sixers also re-signed small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and Philadelphia native Kyle Lowry.

The 29-year-old Martin has the honor of being perhaps the best second-The biggest surprise of a free agent joining the Sixers this summer. He's exactly what every championship contender needs: a switchable winger who puts defense first but can be trusted to be an open jumper.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Martin knows exactly what his role needs to be at rival clubs.

“Here’s how you fit in,” Martin said. “That’s how you complete the pieces of the puzzle. If everyone has the same agenda, averages 20 points, plays the most minutes and makes the most shots, you don’t complete a team.”

In three games for the 1-2 Sixers, the 6-foot-5 winger averaged 13.3 points on .406/.143/.722 shooting splits, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.7 blocks per night. That's a significant drop in performance from his last season with the Heat, where he averaged 10.0 points on .431/.349/.778 shooting percentages.

Considering Martin is a 35.5 percent 3-point shooter on 2.9 long-range attempts for his career, it's likely he'll improve on that poor conversion rate from beyond the arc this season.

“And anyone who knows when putting together a good team has to make sacrifices,” Martin added. “Several people had to make sacrifices. And I’m just one of those guys who is willing to do that even though I know I have more skills.”

Martin was not selected in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Nevada, so he ultimately signed a training camp agreement (Exhibit 10) with the Charlotte Hornets. His performance in training camp inspired the Hornets to promote him to a two-way contract and then a contract to Charlotte's standard 15-man roster.

After a troubled first two seasons with the Hornets, Martin was released before the 2021-22 NBA season. He signed another two-way contract, this time with the Miami Heat, and was ultimately promoted to another standard contract in February of the same season.

During his next three seasons in Miami, he fully demonstrated that he was an NBA-caliber player. Ultimately, in his 195 regular season contests (84 starts), he averaged 9.6 points on a .463/.368/.784 slash line, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 0 .5 blocks and played a crucial role in helping two Heat clubs reach the Eastern Conference Finals in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, including the 2023 NBA Finals.

“I've shown what I'm capable of on the biggest stages, especially putting the ball in the hole,” Martin said of his offensive abilities. “But I understand that will not be my role. That’s not going to be what I’m asked to do every night, and I’m okay with that.”

Embiid and George both missed the Kings' first three games to start the season. Martin will have a lighter attacking load when he returns. The healthier Philadelphia gets, the more likely the team will become one of the East's major threats.

“Scoring points comes from minutes, rhythm and touches,” Martin continued. “It's so much harder to deal with the other side where you're asked to make sacrifices, put up umbrellas, lift 94 feet and bring energy every time. Whenever the group is down, you have to do your best.” Bring the group up… (You have to be the guy) that gets the engine going for the group.

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