Caleb Martin was traded to Dallas — and he didn’t even have to leave the building
Swapped for the Mavericks’ Quentin Grimes, Martin immediately joined his new team before they faced the Sixers.
Caleb Martin walked into the 76ers’ locker room in street clothes around 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, ready to offer individual goodbyes to each teammate sitting at their stall. Ricky Council IV jokingly pretended to cry. Justin Edwards referred to Martin as “my dog.” And then Martin dipped into the staff areas in the back.
That is the nature of the NBA business, especially at this point of the season. Yet it is still rare for a trade-deadline deal to unfold quite like this.
Hours before the Sixers hosted the Dallas Mavericks, they traded Martin to their upcoming opponent in exchange for Quentin Grimes and a second-round draft pick. Which means Martin did not need to leave the Wells Fargo Center to begin his professional transition from his now-former team, to his new one.
“I’m sad I missed him,” said Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey, who was not in the locker room during Martin’s pregame visit. “I didn’t get to see him. This time is crazy, man. … It’s cool for the league, but it [stinks] to see a guy like Caleb go. Because, man, I like Caleb.
“Caleb was a good dude. [He] came in, was a professional. [He] came in and did his job every single day. Even when he was not playing and was hurt, he was up on the bench engaged, coaching guys.”
Edwards, a rookie whose locker was next to Martin’s, acknowledged it was “crazy” that he had a new teammate to his left on Tuesday. When media entered the room for the pregame open period, Martin’s nameplate had already been replaced with Grimes’ name and the No. 25.
The coincidental weirdness extended to other parts of the building throughout the night.
A Wells Fargo Center employee stationed in an area with frequent player and staff foot traffic said he spotted somebody carrying a box of Martin’s basketball shoes to the loading dock, where the opponent’s bus parks. Dallas coach Jason Kidd said during his pregame news conference that, at some point, he hoped to cross paths with Martin for an in-person chat “if that’s legal.” When the Sixers’ pregame intro video rolled, all clips of Martin had already been removed and replaced with other players.
Tuesday was likely equally strange for Grimes. That morning, he went through shootaround at the arena with the Mavericks. By 5 p.m., he was back on the floor following the Sixers’ pregame walk-through, greeting coach Nick Nurse. Grimes briefly emerged following his new team’s 118-116 victory to grab some clothes out of his also-new locker, while chatting with Kelly Oubre Jr.
The aftereffects of Dallas’ other deadline move — the shocking Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade with the Los Angeles Lakers — also still lingered inside the arena Tuesday.
Davis, who coincidentally played his final game with the Lakers a week ago on the same floor, addressed the media as a Maverick for the first time following Tuesday’s shootaround and then sat on the visitors’ bench during the game. Dallas president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, who has caught plenty of outside heat for going through with such a stunning, secretive deal, had his cell phone attached to his ear while roaming those back hallways before Tuesday’s tipoff. Max Christie, who also was acquired in that blockbuster trade, was terrific in his Mavericks debut, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists off the bench.
And during Tuesday’s first half, a brief “Where is Luka?” chant broke out in the crowd.
Grimes is expected to speak to the media before the Sixers’ Wednesday matchup against the Miami Heat, though it is unclear if he will be available to play in that game. Late Tuesday, Sixers superstar Joel Embiid said he expects Grimes to help this roster as an outside shooter and defender.
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But Embiid also talked about the bond he had quickly built with Martin, sharing that an offseason conversation helped “push him over the line” to sign with the Sixers as a free agent. Martin averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 31 games with the Sixers, but was sidelined or hampered for much of the season with shoulder and hip injuries.
“It’s kind of disappointing to see him gone,” Embiid said of Martin. “True professional. Obviously, we’ve had a tough season — all of us. We just haven’t been healthy. He’s been part of this. I feel like we never really got to see what we all envisioned about all of us.”
The Sixers also do not appear to be finished making moves ahead of Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline. KJ Martin had been upgraded to questionable entering Tuesday’s game, after missing about six weeks with a foot stress fracture. But the fifth-year forward was spotted by a reporter leaving the arena about 45 minutes before tipoff, and The Inquirer confirmed it was because a trade is pending.
That means another round of goodbyes could be on the way for the Sixers. But unless KJ Martin is traded to the Heat sometime Wednesday, his commute to his new team will be much further than down a Wells Fargo Center hallway.