Lakers Linked to Key 76ers Player as Interested Trade Suitors

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly have a 76ers player on their radar.

Nov 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) looks to pass against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers made arguably one of the most shocking trades the NBA has seen. Over the weekend, LeBron James’ squad swapped out Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Lakers are still on the hunt for new additions as the trade deadline is quickly approaching. The Philadelphia 76ers seem to have a player on their radar.

Caleb Martin, an offseason acquisition, is reportedly drawing interest from several teams, including the Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and the Miami Heat.

Per the Inquirer, the situation is described as teams simply “conducting due diligence” on Martin.

At this time, Martin doesn’t seem to be open to a change of scenery so early on, and the Sixers aren’t known to be actively shopping the key role player around.

The 2024-2025 NBA season hasn’t gone as expected for Martin in Philadelphia. The same can be said about a lot of the team’s new acquisitions, as they’ve struggled overall throughout the year.

In his first 31 games with the Sixers, Martin was seeing the court for 30 minutes per game. He was posting averages of nine points, four rebounds, and two assists while knocking down 38 percent of his threes on three attempts per game.

While Martin showed plenty of positive flashes as a key role player, physical setbacks bothered him throughout the process. At this point, he’s been sidelined with a hip injury since January 12. An absence on Sunday night against the Boston Celtics marked his 12th in a row.

Over the summer, Martin wrapped up his tenure with the Miami Heat, joining the 76ers on a four-year deal, which has a player option attached for the fourth season.

Unless the Sixers were seriously considering throwing in the towel for the season and planning for a re-tool, moving on from Martin wouldn’t make much sense.

Currently, Philadelphia is one game away from a Play-In spot, trailing the Chicago Bulls. With the Bulls trading away Zach LaVine, they once again signaled they are heading in the direction of a rebuild, which could soon help the Sixers enter the postseason hunt.

Being 19-29 in early February certainly isn’t what the Sixers envisioned when they made their big moves over the summer, but they don’t seem to have any plans of bringing the tank out.

Therefore, holding onto Martin seems like a logical move.

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