Tyrese Martin draws praise from Nets teammates, coach as he battles for roster spot

The Nets started their preseason slate Saturday with a numbers crunch and crowded roster.

They’ll end it weeks from now with a fight right up to Opening Night for the final spot of the team.

That fight may include Tyrese Martin.

Nets players have almost universally offered up unbidden praise for Martin, gushing over his play in offseason runs and training camp practices.

And Brooklyn has held him up as an example to its youngsters of how to carry themselves, how to fight for their jobs.

But Martin knows his own job is nowhere near safe. Not yet.

“I’d never say I’m actually on a solid footing, you know?” said Martin, on a nonguaranteed $2.2 million deal. “Even when things are guaranteed, stuff’s still not guaranteed, especially in this business. So that’s just been my mindset all the way through.

“I feel like the opportunity that I was given I showed what I’m able to do to them and my teammates,” said Martin, who scored three points and grabbed three rebounds in 16 minutes in the Nets’ 123-88 blowout win over Hapoel Jerusalem. So, being consistent and trusting my work every opportunity that I get, I feel like it’s paid off.”

It’s gotten him near-universal praise from teammates and coaches for his summer work. But will that be enough?

Tyrese Martin, who scored three points, looks to make a play during the Nets’ 123-88 blowout win over Hapoel Jerusalem on Oct. 4, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images

The Nets have 21 players in camp, 15 already on guaranteed contracts. They must get down to 15 standard deals and three two-ways by the start of the season.

Waiving the three players on partial or nonguaranteed deals — Jalen Wilson, Drew Timme and Martin — is the path of least resistance. But Martin is resisting.

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Since being a second-round pick in 2022, Martin came into every offseason having to play in Summer League and toil in the G-League, travel and try out for teams. That is, until last year’s breakthrough in Brooklyn.

After parlaying a training camp invite into a two-way deal that he outperformed, Martin finished fifth on the Nets in games and sixth in minutes.

Tyrese Martin shoots a jumper during the Nets’ blowout win over Hapoel Jerusalem. NBAE via Getty Images

Finally having a home — tenuous as it was — allowed him to spend this offseason focusing less on finding a job and more on honing his craft.

“This was the first summer I was actually able to work on my game and be focused on getting better,” said Martin, 26. “[Before] I was either traveling and working out for teams, or I wasn’t getting as much individual work. … So this is the first summer since predraft 2022 that I was able to actually work on my game individually and focusing on that.

“Last year I was in a position where I played on the ball a lot, so this summer we worked on the ball being in my hand … making decisions, making reads off two feet, not turning the ball over … and just being aggressive, trusting the work I put in — whether it was shooting off pindowns, getting downhill, making plays. I feel [that] played a part in this training camp and the best form that I’m in right now.”

Teammates have been buzzing about that form.

“Tyrese has really been the most impressive player I’ve seen on the team so far,” newcomer Michael Porter Jr. said. “I didn’t know a lot about him, but he’s been consistently killing through scrimmages, open runs. He’s a player that can slide in that point guard place but can also play the two. He can pass. He’s been really impressive.”

Holdovers like Zaire Williams and Jordi Fernández have noted Martin’s growth.

“He’s been better with his handle and decision-making. We all know he can make shots. He also worked on his body,” Fernández said. “I’d call him one of our grown-ups, leading by example. That’s why he’s respected by all his teammates.

“Tyrese is a super pro [with his] consistency. Consistent not just with his work, but also his personality and how he behaves. Even-keeled, never too high, never too low, always a good example for the rest. Doesn’t say much, but when he says something, it’s meaningful. All those things are important today, and also we’re trying to build in the future. Tyrese has been great.”

But great enough to be part of that future build? That’s the question.