What do Knicks have in two-way rookie Jaylen Martin?

Knicks rookie Jaylen Martin playing at Florida High, where he was coached by Charlie Ward (wikimedia commons)

After not making a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks signed Jaylen Martin and Jacob Toppin to two-way deals for the 2023-24 NBA Season. 

Martin is a 6’6″ wing who decided to sign with Overtime Elite, a new high school league that pays players for a chance to play competitive basketball and gain exposure as an alternative to having them go to the NCAA. Martin went undrafted on Thursday night, but his two-way contract with the Knicks means that he will split time between them and their G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.

Martin was also coached by former Knicks guard Charlie Ward for three years at Florida High before Martin joined Overtime Elite. In his one season as a part of the Overtime Elite league, Martin averaged 14.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals while shooting 49.1% from the field.

Ward, who also played quarterback at Florida State, was drafted by the Knicks in the first round in 1994 and played in New York for 10 seasons.

Ward spoke to reporters about Martin, saying, “It’s been a journey for him. He’s gotten a lot better. He’s a slasher. He has good size and he can defend and score the ball. … He still has to improve in a lot of areas like all young players have to in his position.”

While watching highlights on a player is not always the best way to make evaluations on a player, it’s the best we have to go on for Martin. 

The first thing that stands out is his size. At 6’5″ but with a 6’11” wingspan, he looks physicality larger than the guards he was playing against at the NBA Draft Combine. He also uses that size really well when he attacks the basket, often finishing into contact. 

However, he also has an array of finishing moves and seems to understand angles, which makes him appear to be a pretty solid finisher around the basket, which is good because the highlights make it seem…