Is Martin A Nets Keeper?
The promotional photo on the Gotham Sports App page that linked the broadcast of Sunday’s Nets/Raptors game was of a player who was a DNP-Coach’s Decision.
If that doesn’t encapsulate this Nets season…
Brooklyn guard Tyrese Martin did not see any action for a second consecutive game as Head Coach Jordi Fernandez is using the final week of a miserable season to get a longer look at some other guys who haven’t had as much of an opportunity to audition for jobs next season in Brooklyn or elsewhere.
Which is exactly what the Nets (25-53) should be doing. Their 120-109 loss to the visiting Raptors all but assured them of being locked into the NBA’s sixth-worst record and the related odds in the 2025 Draft Lottery. These final games couldn’t be any more meaningless.
Only they matter very much to players without guaranteed contracts for next season. That includes Martin, whose NBA contract following the in-season two-way conversion includes a team option for 2025-26, with not even a small guarantee, per Spotrac.com. Keon Johnson’s similar deal, in comparison, comes with a $271,614 guarantee if the Nets choose to keep him on next season’s roster.
So call me curious as to why the Nets have stapled Martin, who had no injury designation going into Sunday or Thursday’s defeat versus Minnesota, to the bench as the odd man out. Jalen Wilson, a Nets 2023 second round pick, also hasn’t played in the last two games, but at least he was listed as “out” on Thursday with ankle soreness. If the argument is that the Nets have already seen enough of Martin to complete their evaluation, well, haven’t they seen enough of Johnson too?
Fernandez went with a nine-man rotation against Toronto, so there was capacity to slot Martin in. Fernandez didn’t have to play non-shooting Reece Beekman 36 minutes; some of those could have gone to Martin for further point guard development. The Raptors, with their all-court, into-the-body pressure defense, would have been a good test.
I’m only bringing this up because I do not know where the brass has come down on Martin, if a decision on his Nets future has even been determined. It would be premature to conclude that he’s a keeper, because 26 is not exactly “young” in NBA circles. Of Brooklyn’s eight oldest players on its roster (only Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell are older than Martin), only Trendon Watford, 24, took the floor on Sunday. By the way, Keon Johnson, though this is his fourth NBA season, is 23.
The pros for Martin: He’s one of just four Nets, and only one of two (with Cam Johnson) to play at least 20 games, to boast a league-average three-point rate; he’s displayed toughness on the boards and on his paint finishes with either hand (he is shooting over 70% in the restricted area, the third-best mark on the team among those with at least 50 such attempts this season, per NBA.com); and he knows how to play pick-and-roll, with good vision to spot help and deliver passes to the opposite corner.
The cons: The athleticism deficit is obvious, as he can’t beat NBA defenders off the dribble and is susceptible to blow-bys on his one-on-one assignments; he is prone to committing turnovers (there was an 11-game stretch in January where he registered a 15.8 turnover percentage, the sixth-worst percentage in the league among the 188 players with at least eight games played in that span, per NBA.com), either through careless ballhandling or being too slow in recognition; and it’s hard to argue that he’s a “winning player” when the Nets have gotten torched during his court time in eight of the 12 games where he has received more than 29 minutes.
Nets management, of course, has not prioritized winning games this season. They probably would have preferred about a half a dozen fewer victories than their record shows. However, Fernandez has proven himself to be a capable leader from the sidelines and the players, who never tank on the floor, willed a flawed team to those extraneous triumphs.
That includes Martin, who signed a two-way deal off a good Las Vegas Summer League tournament and training camp before really opening eyes by dropping 30 points in a shocking November 30 win at Phoenix. He proceeded to make himself useful when trades and injuries depleted Fernandez’s guard options and was rewarded by having his contract converted to an NBA standard one after the February All-Star break.
Could Martin develop into a contributor off the bench on a contending team? My guess is that the Nets are debating the same thing, though with each passing day, they’re seeing the odds getting less likely. With youth apparently the current franchise priority and a slate of as many as five top-40 picks in the upcoming Draft headed this way, Martin could easily become a victim in another numbers game in the offseason turnover, with no cost to Brooklyn.
I get that tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone; but is that why today wasn’t for Martin?