Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - Kenyon Martin Jr.
Martin had some doubters coming into the 2020 draft, as some draft evaluators did not even see him as someone that should be drafted. Nevertheless, the Rockets selected him with the 52nd pick, and he showed to be a steal at that spot early. The context of his success is a little tricky, as the Rockets were very bad during his first few seasons, but he appears to have some real upside. Martin is an athletic wing that can finish well above the rim, and has had some legitimate poster dunks. He runs hard and is a real threat in transition, and he hit a very good 76% at the rim in '22-'23. Martin has shot a slightly below-average 34% from three, but defenses are generally fine leaving him open, so the vast majority of those attempts come on wide open spot-up attempts, making that mark even less impressive. Martin rebounds well for a wing and also has a really nice block rate. Despite the Rockets having a deep roster of young players, Martin received a good amount of minutes in '22-'23, including starting a good number of games. However, he didn't get many minutes in '23-'24 for the 76ers, as he was not in the regular rotation. Martin will still be only 24 years old as an unrestricted free agent in 2025, so he's still decently young, and could improve his stock by getting more minutes in '24-'25.
Summary
Martin's $8 million salary for 2025-2026 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the 76ers will have no form of Bird rights on him. If he is waived, teams could claim him off waivers, but would need to fit his salary within cap space or an exception to do so. If Martin becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or possibly even the Taxpayer MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. If Martin is waived and clears waivers, his value may have dropped low enough that he would only have offers for the minimum.
Cap Considerations
Jalen McDaniels (2 years, $9 million, 2023) Josh Okogie (2-1 years, $16 million, 2024) Kenrich Williams (4-1 years, $27 million, 2022)