Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez has been put into an interesting position this season as he has to find a way to incorporate five rookies into the fold. Brooklyn has started the 2025-26 NBA season with a 0-5 record as the team has been relying on Egor Demin and Ben Saraf, but Fernandez decided to rely on a veteran in Wednesday’s 117-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“I thought Tyrese was awesome. If you look at his minutes: 20 minutes, 13 points, five rebounds. So, it’s about us and whoever helps right there to help the team fight right here,” Fernandez said following Wednesday’s loss to the Hawks. Saraf started the game, but he played just 12 minutes while Demin played 16 minutes and Martin played 20 minutes, including playing the majority of his minutes in the fourth quarter.
“There’s nothing given to anybody. So, I’m just rewarding a player who has a who’s had a great summer and he’s playing he was playing well. That’s pretty simple,” Fernandez continued while talking about Martin. To Fernandez’s point, Martin finished Wednesday’s loss against Atlanta with 13 points and five rebounds while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range.
Martin, 26, is in the midst of his third season in the NBA and thus far, he is averaging 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 39.4% from the field and 35.0% from three-point land. While there were some pundits speculating on whether Martin would make the team coming out of training camp, Martin not only remained on the team, but has made it clear that he can still contribute regardless of Brooklyn being in a rebuilding state.
After playing just 21 total minutes in losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs, Martin has now played 23 minutes and 20 minutes in his last two appearances as Fernandez is trying to figure out his best rotation. What Fernandez’s tinkering with the lineup means for Saraf and Demin remains to be seen, but at the moment, Martin is taking advantage of the chance he has to close games for the Nets as one of the point guards.