The Philadelphia 76ers continued their offseason spending spree Friday by re-signing forward KJ Martin to a two-year, $16 million contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. They’re now well over the NBA’s $170.8 million luxury-tax threshold and right around the $178.1 million first apron, but they’re still well below the $188.9 million second apron.

If you’re surprised by the size of Martin’s contract, you can thank the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement for that.

Under the previous CBA, there was only one apron. Teams above that threshold were allowed to take back 125% of the salary that they sent out in trades, plus $100,000. Under the current CBA, teams over the first apron aren’t allowed to take back a single dollar more in salary than they send out.

That’s why the Sixers gave Martin the contract that they did. In essence, he’s now a human trade exception.

After signing Paul George to a four-year, $211.6 million maximum contract, the Sixers have an extremely top-heavy build. All three of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are signed to their respective max deals (35% of the salary cap for George and Embiid and 25% for Maxey) and will earn at least $35 million this season. Caleb Martin is the Sixers’ next-highest-paid player at $8.1 million, and Kelly Oubre Jr. is right behind him at $8.0 million.

Those two were the only other Sixers who are earning more than $5 million this season. That would have been a problem when it came time to match salaries in midseason trades.

KJ Martin now gives the Sixers a legitimate backup power forward for the time being, and an $8 million midseason trade chip. His full contract details have yet to emerge, but his salary in 2025-26 is likely non-guaranteed, similar to the deal that Josh Okogie recently reached with the Phoenix Suns.

League sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the Suns intentionally “gave Okogie an inflated salary in the contract structure to use as a potential trade chip.” The Sixers seemingly pursued a similar strategy with Martin.

The Sixers aren’t hard-capped at either apron for the time being, but they wouldn’t be allowed take back more salary than they send out in a trade if they finish above the first apron after the deal. If they go over the second apron, they wouldn’t be allowed to aggregate contracts unless the deal put them under the second apron.

The Sixers are far enough under from the second apron that it shouldn’t be a concern this season. That should leave them free to aggregate contracts in midseason deals. However, Martin’s contract might not be large enough for them to acquire some of the best targets on the trade market.

To get up to Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith’s $14.9 million cap hit, for instance, the Sixers would either have to include one or two of their other non-minimum contracts (Oubre, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain) or they would have to aggregate multiple minimum contracts (Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry and Ricky Council IV). Players such as Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma ($23.5 million) and Atlanta Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanović ($17.3 million) now may be effectively out of reach for the Sixers this season.

Instead, they’ll likely have to train their sights on players earning $12-13 million or less. That group includes Toronto Raptors big man Kelly Olynyk ($12.8 million), Memphis Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke ($12.5 million), Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. ($11.2 million) and Suns forward Royce O’Neale ($9.9 million).

Cheaper alternatives could include Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin ($8.1 million), Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams ($6.7 million), Washington Wizards forward Saddiq Bey ($6.4 million) and Wizards forward Corey Kispert ($5.7 million).

The Sixers have up to four first-round picks to offer in trades, and they appear to be in all-in mode after signing George. They’ll likely be open for business at the trade deadline once they identify the biggest needs of their new-look team. Martin can help fill minutes for the first half of the season while they figure out the rest.

If the Sixers don’t wind up trading Martin, they’ll have increased their luxury-tax bill by more than $10 million by signing him. That’s a risk they’re seemingly willing to take. With George entering his age-34 season and Embiid having turned 30 in March, the Sixers might not have a long title window. Their time is now.

By signing Martin to a short-term balloon deal at the expense of their tax bill, the Sixers proved that they’re operating with that type of urgency. They’ve now given themselves a salary-matching contract to flip at the trade deadline to fill any glaring need they might have ahead of the playoffs.

The Sixers have repeatedly manipulated the salary cap this offseason. Those positive moves on the margins tend to add up over time. The Martin contract is just the latest example.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.