Feb. 6, 2026, 10:16 a.m. ET
The Brooklyn Nets were expected to be active prior to Thursday’s 3 PM ET trade deadline, but it seemed like they refigured the bottom of their roster or accumulated assets. The biggest move that Brooklyn made on Thursday was waiving former first-round pick Cam Thomas, but they essentially took in just one player from their trades, including one of their older guys.
The Nets announced prior to Thursday’s 118-98 loss at the Orlando Magic that guard Tyrese Martin was listed as out due to him not being with the team. While Brooklyn didn’t officially confirm that they had waived Martin, it was fair to assume that he was being waived given how abruptly the news was reported combined with the fact that he seemed to be on the roster bubble anyway.
Martin was waived, according to the Nets’ press release, in a related transaction to the Nets acquiring forward Hunter Tyson and the 2032 second-round pick from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Martin, 26, seemed to be in an uncertain spot for the majority of the season considering that there was some around the league who thought that he could’ve been cut from the team during training camp.
Martin, who has primarily coming off the bench for the Nets since coming to the team during the 2024-25 season, is averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 39.2% from the field and 33.6% from three-point land in 37 appearances this season. With all of the trades that Brooklyn made Thursday acquiring Tyson, forward Josh Minott from the Boston Celtics, and guard Ochai Agbaji from the Toronto Raptors, the Nets had to cut three players to be compliant with the 15 players under standard contracts rule.
Martin, along with Thomas and forward Haywood Highsmith, were cut to make room for the three incoming players, but Tyson was also waived following Thursday’s loss at the Magic. Martin’s story is one of resolve and determination as he went from being the 51st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to making the Nets roster out of camp to signing his first standard NBA contract in February of last season.
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“I appreciate how professional he’s been, all the work that he put in. This summer, he was the best player in the gym for the most part,” Fernandez said prior to Thursday’s loss in Orlando. “His consistency was amazing, seeing him grow and going from the Two-Way to the guaranteed contract. Ge’s been part of us being very competitive and winning games. Same thing, wishing nothing but the best [for him].”
Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor contributed to this story.