KJ Martin knows the Sixers could trade him. He wants to show them why they shouldn’t.

Being a young player on a veteran 76ers squad has impacted KJ Martin’s minutes.

The 23-year-old was acquired alongside Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris Sr., and Robert Covington from the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 1 in the James Harden trade. Since then, Martin, in his fourth season, has been buried behind Batum, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr., Morris, and Covington at the forward spot.

He’s averaging career lows of 1.5 points and 5.8 minutes in 14 appearances heading into Friday’s matchup.

This comes after he averaged 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 28.0 minutes in 82 games, with 49 starts, last season with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets traded him to his hometown Clippers on July 8.

Martin is also aware that he could be part of a possible trade. The Sixers could package him with other assets to acquire a missing piece to pair alongside Embiid and standout point guard Tyrese Maxey.

“I’ve been traded twice already, so I feel like I have an understanding [that] stuff happens for a reason,” Martin said. “Like I said, it’s nothing that I can control. If it does happen, hopefully it’s in a situation where I can play more.

“If I stay here, then hopefully, you know, I’m trying to get the opportunity to show what I can do. You feel me? I never am the type of person to be super, super down on myself about stuff that I really can’t control.”

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Martin can control how he performs in the limited minutes he receives. And he did a solid job of providing a defensive presence in Wednesday’s victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Sixers needed his strength and athleticism against All-Star guard Anthony Edwards. Martin displayed competitiveness, mobility, and physicality. He scored three points and was a plus-12 in just 6 minutes, 55 seconds.

“If I’m doing the things I know I should be doing everyday and I’m putting in the work in doing what I’m supposed to do, whenever my opportunity comes to play here, I’m going to be ready,” he said. “That is the biggest thing for me.

“Obviously, it’s an adjustment. Last season, I played 29, 30 minutes a game. So that’s the only tough thing about it. I have 200-plus games under my belt at this point and I just want to go out and compete.”

No matter if he’s watching from the bench or on the court, Martin is striving to compete. He’s confident he can help the Sixers in certain areas.

“If Coach [Nick Nurse] thinks the older guys, since they have more experience, they can do it better, I’m there to support them,” he said. “I’m not the type of person that’s going to be over there on the sidelines mad, because I’m not playing. … I just try to be the best teammate that I can.”

Despite the new faces and occasional tweaks to the rotation, the 76ers have been drama free. Guys have been meshing well — instead of arguing over minutes.

“It’s a great group of guys,” Morris said following Friday’s shootaround. “But the mixture of veterans and younger guys is the biggest thing. Guys have been around the league, everybody wants to win. We all understand game planning. We all talk a lot.

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“And I think it’s easier just because Coach gives us a string to be able to figure [stuff] out on the fly.”

That’s a good coaching style for a veteran team like the Sixers, who take a 19-8 record into Friday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center.

Joel Embiid, the franchise player, is in his eighth NBA season. Harris and Morris are in their 13th. Batum (16th), Patrick Beverley (12th), Covington (11th), Oubre (ninth), and Danuel House Jr. (eighth) have also been in the league for a long time.

Despite the veteran makeup of his team, Nurse believes in practicing often — something that’s no longer commonplace in the NBA.

Yet, that’s been a good thing for the Sixers, even though it’s taken some adjustments.

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“It was a little tough, because I was with the Clippers and we never practiced,” Morris said. “I had to put my hat on and had to realize this is different right here. I like it. Like I said, I played for older coaches Stan Van Gundy [with the Detroit Pistons] where we practiced every single day.”

But Morris commends Nurse for wanting to practice and watch film.

“We all have one goal,” he said. “That’s to win.”

Friday’s matchup marked the third time this season Nurse faced his former team.

The Sixers hired Nurse on May 29 after Toronto fired him as its head coach on April 21. He spent a decade with the Raptors organization, the first five as an assistant coach. After being named head coach before the 2018-19 season, he compiled a record of 227-163 (.582). Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and was the 2020 NBA coach of the year.

The Sixers defeated the Raptors, 114-107, on Oct. 28 at Scotiabank Arena. Then they bested Toronto, 114-99, on Nov. 2 at the Wells Fargo Center.