The Nets began their preseason slate Saturday with a numbers crunch and crowded roster.
They’ll finish it weeks from now with a battle proper as much as Opening Evening for the ultimate spot of the crew.
That battle could embody Tyrese Martin.
Nets gamers have nearly universally supplied up unbidden reward for Martin, gushing over his play in offseason runs and coaching camp practices.
And Brooklyn has held him up for example to its children of find out how to carry themselves, find out how to battle for his or her jobs.
However Martin is aware of his personal job is nowhere close to secure. Not but.
“I’d by no means say I’m truly on a stable footing, ?” mentioned Martin, on a nonguaranteed $2.2 million deal. “Even when issues are assured, stuff’s nonetheless not assured, particularly on this enterprise. In order that’s simply been my mindset throughout.
“I really feel like the chance that I used to be given I confirmed what I’m in a position to do to them and my teammates,” mentioned Martin, who scored three factors and grabbed three rebounds in 16 minutes within the Nets’ 123-88 blowout win over Hapoel Jerusalem. So, being constant and trusting my work each alternative that I get, I really feel prefer it’s paid off.”
It’s gotten him near-universal reward from teammates and coaches for his summer time work. However will that be sufficient?
The Nets have 21 gamers in camp, 15 already on assured contracts. They have to get down to fifteen customary offers and three two-ways by the beginning of the season.
Waiving the three gamers on partial or nonguaranteed offers — Jalen Wilson, Drew Timme and Martin — is the trail of least resistance. However Martin is resisting.
Since being a second-round choose in 2022, Martin got here into each offseason having to play in Summer time League and toil within the G-League, journey and check out for groups. That’s, till final 12 months’s breakthrough in Brooklyn.
After parlaying a coaching camp invite right into a two-way deal that he outperformed, Martin completed fifth on the Nets in video games and sixth in minutes.
Lastly having a house — tenuous because it was — allowed him to spend this offseason focusing much less on discovering a job and extra on honing his craft.
“This was the primary summer time I used to be truly in a position to work on my recreation and be targeted on getting higher,” mentioned Martin, 26. “[Before] I used to be both touring and figuring out for groups, or I wasn’t getting as a lot particular person work. … So that is the primary summer time since predraft 2022 that I used to be in a position to truly work on my recreation individually and specializing in that.
“Final 12 months I used to be able the place I performed on the ball rather a lot, so this summer time we labored on the ball being in my hand … making choices, making reads off two ft, not turning the ball over … and simply being aggressive, trusting the work I put in — whether or not it was taking pictures off pindowns, getting downhill, making performs. I really feel [that] performed an element on this coaching camp and the very best type that I’m in proper now.”
Teammates have been buzzing about that type.
“Tyrese has actually been probably the most spectacular participant I’ve seen on the crew thus far,” newcomer Michael Porter Jr. mentioned. “I didn’t know rather a lot about him, however he’s been persistently killing via scrimmages, open runs. He’s a participant that may slide in that time guard place however also can play the 2. He can go. He’s been actually spectacular.”
Holdovers like Zaire Williams and Jordi Fernández have famous Martin’s development.
“He’s been higher together with his deal with and decision-making. Everyone knows he could make photographs. He additionally labored on his physique,” Fernández mentioned. “I’d name him one among our grown-ups, main by instance. That’s why he’s revered by all his teammates.
“Tyrese is a brilliant professional [with his] consistency. Constant not simply together with his work, but additionally his character and the way he behaves. Even-keeled, by no means too excessive, by no means too low, all the time a superb instance for the remaining. Doesn’t say a lot, however when he says one thing, it’s significant. All these issues are essential at the moment, and likewise we’re attempting to construct sooner or later. Tyrese has been nice.”
However nice sufficient to be a part of that future construct? That’s the query.
