Killian Hayes, Tyrese Martin speak on their journeys to Brooklyn

It’s a two-year deal for Martin and a 10-Day for Hayes. It’s a long time coming for them both.

While it’s more commonly associated with red candies or furry weathermen, under a basketball lens the month of February is the time of year for major — and minor — NBA chess moves due to it being centered around the trade deadline. This year’s board-shuffling extravaganza involved Sacramento sliding out its speediest King, the one in LA grabbing a new piece to play with, and that stalemate in Miami finally coming to a close.

Although the Brooklyn Nets refrained from partaking in the game this year, they did turn a few pawns into knights exactly two weeks removed from it.

News of the deals broke yesterday, but today, the team officially confirmed its signing of Tyrese Martin and Killian Hayes to NBA contracts. Martin was elevated from a two-way to a standard deal, while Hayes, who had been in the G-League all season with Long Island, inked a 10-day agreement.

“I felt very grateful,” said Hayes. “I felt like a lot of work got put into this, and I’m just very grateful for this opportunity.”

“It took a lot of hard work, you know, so that’s not going to change, but it definitely was like a weight on my shoulders lifted off when it happened,” added Martin. “I was able to like, just enjoy the break, mind free, things like that to know this moment was coming for me, for sure.”

It was a well-deserved payday for Martin — active for 50 games and appearing in 36 already this season while averaging 7.8 points, 1.8 assists, and 3.9 boards per game. It was also a timely one. With Martin already reaching the maximum amount of games teams are able to activate their two-ways for in a season, they needed to either convert him or send him back down before tonight.

“With Tyrese, it’s very simple: He’s done a great job throughout the summer, earned his two-way, and then he’s done an amazing job to earn this contract,” Jordi Fernández said. “He has been part of what we’re trying to do, worked every single day, got better, great teammate, helped us win a lot of games. And this is very, very well deserved, proud of him and happy, happy for him.”

“It feels good,” Martin said in response to his coach’s kind words. “It gives you some type of clarity to know that you’re doing the right things…I feel like it’s not like I’m going out there and just looking for things he wants me to do. I feel like I’m just being myself and being the pro that I am, just going out there, working hard, being a great person every day. And this is what he stands for, so if I can do that, help build this culture what he wants it to be, I feel like I could be here for a little while.”

For Hayes, it’s another step down the road in what he hopes is a redemption tour. The former lottery pick was waived by the Detroit Pistons just over a year ago. Getting some burn tonight, this evening gave Hayes his first NBA action since February 7th, 2024.

Hayes finished this evening with five points, three assists, and a board in 21 minutes while shooting 2-of-6 from the floor. Martin didn’t score until the final three minutes of the game, flying around a screen and finishing through some contact for a layup before splashing a three soon after. While Brooklyn was already well-defeated by that point, eventually falling to Cleveland by a 110-97 score, the progress from Hayes and Martin to get here tonight remains worth celebrating.

“Just coming in every day, with a great mindset, just trying to get one percent better,” Martin said of his journey. “You know, being a great person and just being the best teammate I could be even when things might not be going how I want them to go. So I just stuck to those three things and, you know, it just panned out the way for me the way I wanted it to.”

While Hayes has seen less time with the Nets this year, Martin has taken the longer road back to an NBA floor. The combo guard signed a rookie-scale deal with the Atlanta Hawks after they drafted him in the second round two years ago. They waived him after the first, leaving Martin off the pro level for the entire 2023-24 season before finding better footing here in Brooklyn.

“I think just how connected we are,” Martin said of Brooklyn’s ability to bring out the best in him. “Everybody’s just — just no egos. Everybody’s bought into what we’re all trying to do and everybody just fits in very well. We play an offense that favors anybody to have a great night out there. That’s a great thing… It’s just a great, tight-knit group, and obviously we’re exceeding expectations that were set for us at the beginning of the year. I feel like we’re in a great place.”

Hayes, under the 10-day, will get 10 days or three games, whichever comes first, to play up in Brooklyn. Ironically, it ends March 1 when the Nets play the Pistons. They can then offer him another 10-day deal after that or give him a standard one for the remainder of the season.

“Just do whatever I’m asked,” Hayes said when asked what he hopes to showcase. “Just play hard, go out there, play ball. Any excitement I have, just give it my all, really.”

Hayes has done that for the most part down in the G, also polishing the most stained aspect of his game: his shooting. Across his three and a half years in Detroit, Hayes posted 38/27 splits. On Long Island, he improved that to 43/29 marks but over the last seven games, he exploded, shooting 57/50.

“I think it just comes with reps and confidence,” said Hayes. “I think confidence plays a big part in shooting. When I was over there, I was playing with a lot of confidence. Every shot I took, I felt was going in. So just coming in here with the same impact, same mentality, and playing with confidence.”

“I believe that life is full of ups and downs, not everything is going to be perfect,” he went on. “Sometimes you question things. That’s why I lean a lot on God, and God helped me a lot through this journey. And like I said, I just feel blessed and grateful to be back here.”

Pivotal as these steps are for both players, each hopes to make them their first on an extensive journey that keeps them in the association — that keeps them on the board.

“My goal is to stay in the NBA, make a mark for myself,” Hayes said. “But I think my short-term goals are, you know, just be a team player, show what I can do in these 10 days I have, and just keep going from there. Just helping my teammates, being a great teammate, being a great locker room guy, and just do what I have to do.”

“If anything, I think, you just start working harder and smarter, the same way you’ve been,” Martin added. “Can’t be satisfied, and you just go out there and just know there’s more to take. So that’s my mindset now going into these next 28 games and getting into the offseason.”

There was one other side note from the deadline. Sean Marks broke his silence on the trade deadline in talking with Brooklyn Bridge, the Nets magazine.

“I think for us it was like… stay pat, we haven’t seen enough from our guys because they’ve been hurt and we made a few of our moves earlier on in the year,” said Marks..

• Former lottery pick Killian Hayes ‘grateful’ to earn 10-day trial run with Nets – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Tyrese Martin, Killian Hayes talk new contracts with Nets – C,J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Former top-10 pick attempting NBA comeback after signing contract with Nets – Erik Slater – Clutch Points