Caleb Martin agrees upon four-year/$32+ million deal with Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers presumably have made their final big splash in free agency as forward Caleb Martin is joining the 76ers on a four-year/$32+ million contract that’s fully-guaranteed and has a player option in the fourth year.

In order to make this work, Philadelphia waived center Paul Reed to shed off his $7.7 million non-guaranteed salary for next season via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

76ers Salary cap implications of Caleb Martin signing

Caleb Martin turned down the Miami Heat’s five-year/$65 million offer in an attempt to earn a larger contract elsewhere.

What Martin and his camp didn’t realize is that other contending teams have virtually no cap space left, besides the 76ers, who had about $9 million left (without Paul Reed’s contract). With no better option, Martin settled for a lesser deal in Philadelphia and we now have another Kelly Oubre Jr. situation on our hands that’ll likely work out just as well.

When the dust settles, Philadelphia will be a good case study on maximizing cap space.

By Tyrese Maxey not extending last offseason, Philadelphia was able to sign Paul George, Andre Drummond and Caleb Martin with room.

Kelly Oubre Jr. will be signed with the room exception.…

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 6, 2024

While there isn’t an exact number yet, with the Caleb Martin signing, the 76ers are now centimeters away from the first tax apron, which is set at approximately $178 million.

With all their cap space used up and inevitably bound to enter the first apron, it’s safe to say that Philadelphia’s last couple offseason moves are dishing out veteran minimum contracts to fill out their last five roster spots.

However, there could be one more significant in-house move that the 76ers can pull of that would allow for a flexibility down the line. Philadelphia posses forward KJ Martin’s full bird rights, which allow for the 76ers to sign Martin to his maximum salary while exceeding the salary cap. Signing Martin to such a lucrative deal could help Philadelphia trade for the likes of Dorian Finney-Smith a few months into next season as salaries would likely match up.

What Caleb Martin brings to 76ers

The 76ers added the best player they possibly could at this point in free agency in Caleb Martin. The newest 76ers was a part of the Miami Heat for the past few seasons where he found himself as a quality 3&D forward and heavily contributed to Miami’s 2023 finals run, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Caleb Martin will be a great fit next to Philadelphia’s newly established big three with his talents as a two-way player. Offensively, Martin supplies solid spot-up shooting, knows when to cut from the back-door, and can attack closeouts well.

On the defensive end, Martin is a quality point-of-attack defender, provides solid help defense, can switch off ball-screens, and has a great deal of experience playing zone coverage during his Heat tenure.

Caleb Martin had a CAREER-HIGH season with the @MiamiHEAT! He posted a personal best 10.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 2.2 APG with four 20+ point games. 🫡

Martin dropped 24 PTS and 12 REB on the Raptors followed by 17 PTS and 12 REB the following week against the Bulls. pic.twitter.com/XuxYXkIrIj

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) July 3, 2024

The biggest question mark revolving around Caleb Martin is which position he will slot into the starting lineup as. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski deemed him the 76ers’ starting power forward in a recent tweet. Throughout his time with the Heat, Martin has played the four numerous times standing at 6’5.

What Martin doesn’t bring in size/rebounding, he makes for it with his 3&D versatility and he could develop into a solid short-roll player who can make connective passing and thrive in pick-and-pop situations.

As it stands, the 76ers are rolling with a starting lineup consisting of Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr, Paul George, Caleb Martin, and Joel Embiid. This is undoubtedly the most versatile and athletic lineup the 76ers have surrounding Joel Embiid during his career. With Nick Nurse as head coach, he is surely thrilled and will surely implement a switch-heavy defensive scheme.

The 76ers still have some holes in their roster, most glaringly, a need for a back-up point guard along with simply filling out their forward depth.

However, Philadelphia has formed a quality starting five and there’s a plethora of veteran players in the free agent market who the 76ers can get for a veteran minimum deal.

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