Sixers Make Brilliant Free Agent Signing to Give Themselves the Perfect Trade Asset

The Philadelphia 76ers have been the clear winners of free agency so far. Not only did they sign Paul George and re-sign Tyrese Maxey, but the Sixers also found perfect-fitting role players around this group. Eric Gordon, Caleb Martin, and Kelly Oubre Jr. should fit next to the Joel Embiid-George-Maxey trio seamlessly.

GM Daryl Morey, however, isn't done just yet. He may have just made his savviest move of the offseason on Friday night. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Sixers signed KJ Martin to a two-year, $16 million deal.

Sixers News: Philadelphia Turns KJ Martin into Walking Trade Chip

On paper, that seems like an overpay for Martin. Because it is, but that is also precisely why the Sixers did it.

This was an intentional overpay by the Sixers front office to turn Martin into a walking trade exception. Since Philadelphia had bird rights on the 23-year-old forward, they could pay him to get over the salary cap, unlike what they could have done with another free agent.

After the Sixers fill out the rest of their roster, they will be over the first apron according to the new collective bargaining agreement. This means that they can't bring back more salary than they send out in any trade.

Using Martin as the asset going out in a potential trade, however, the Sixers can bring a player back up to Martin's contract. This helps them maintain valuable trade flexibility and bring back another role player using Martin's salary slot.

The Sixers still need to round out the roster. Whether they will do that in free agency or test the waters on the trade market remains to be seen. It's clear, however, that Morey is willing to go all-in this summer.

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