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Nets fill final open two-way with familiar young prospect

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Erik Slater | Last updated 2/21/24

The Brooklyn Nets filled their final two-way roster spot Tuesday, signing rookie swingman Jaylen Martin to a two-year contract, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

Martin, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022, passed on offers from Florida, Ole Miss, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, and Georgetown, among others, to play in the Overtime Elite league. While with Overtime, the 6-foot-6 wing was coached by newly hired Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie, who took over after the team abruptly fired Jacque Vaughn on Monday.

Martin missed two months of the 2022-23 season with a hamstring injury. However, he averaged 14.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 10 regular season games and 15.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in six postseason games for the YNG Dreamerz.

OTE is a league stacked with big name young talent. However, it's currently being dominated by a player you may not have heard of. Let's dissect Jaylen Martin's electric start to the 2023 season! pic.twitter.com/wZKWizctUn

— Swish Theory (@SwishTheory) November 6, 2022

After going undrafted this summer, Martin signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks. He was waived in late December but remained with the team’s G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. The 20-year-old averaged 12.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 24.8 minutes per game while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three (3.6 attempts per game) over 31 appearances for Westchester.

Martin joins rookie Jalen Wilson and third-year guard Keon Johnson as Brooklyn’s two-way players. Rookie first-round picks Noah Clowney (19 years old) and Dariq Whitehead (19 years old) were also part of an influx of young prospects by General Manager Sean Marks this offseason.

After acquiring Dennis Schroder and Keita Bates Diop and waiving journeyman center Harry Giles at the trade deadline, the Nets also have one open standard roster spot.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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