Free Agency Analysis: Jarell Martin to Sydney

NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria continues his look at each and every signing, breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

Signed by: Sydney Kings

The deal: Two years (mutual option second year)

Age: 26  

2019-20 team: Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA G League)

2019-20 stats (per game): 11.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 71.4 FG%, 55.0 3P%, 92.3 FT% (9 games)

Projected role: Starting centre.

Quote: “We are definitely going to benefit from Jarell’s competitiveness and desire to win – Kings fans should be excited for what is in store.” – Chris Pongrass (Sydney Kings CEO) 

My take: This is an impressive signing by the Kings as Martin is a highly-talented big man sitting right on the NBA fringe.

I mean, this is a guy who was a first-round draft pick by the Grizzlies just five years ago and has since played nearly 200 NBA games, including 40 as a starter.

Last year, after a season with Orlando, he slipped out of the league and instead did his thing in China and the G League (where he scored with ridiculous efficiency in only a handful of games).

A 6-foot-10 power forward, Martin will play centre in the NBL and his versatile skillset will make him a very tough cover at that position. Think Cam Oliver, but a slightly better shooter and not quite as good an athlete.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Meet the new guy, former NBA big man, Jarell Martin.<br> <br>Keen to see him in action? <br>Yeah, same... <br><br>Grab a membership to secure your seat: <a href="https://t.co/u33s3F8V1Y">https://t.co/u33s3F8V1Y</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/dKICuxwB1H">pic.twitter.com/dKICuxwB1H</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1333928577297907712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Offensively, he‘s big and strong and will be tough to stop around the rim but where he really excels is with his face-up game. Like, this dude can really shoot it – both off the catch and off the bounce – and his ability to stretch the floor will open up driving lanes for guys like Casper Ware, Didi Louzada and Xavier Cooks. The thing is, he can also put it on the deck so if defenders close-out hard, he’s a chance to punish them with drives to the rim.  

Martin will score, I’m confident of that, so the question marks around his impact will be at the other end and on the glass. Despite his physical profile, he’s never really been an impactful rim-protector nor has he been a dominant presence on the glass. That will need to change as the Kings are looking to replace the best defensive rebounder in the land.

All in all, Martin is a very nice pick-up by Sydney. Congrats to their CEO, Chris Pongrass, on getting the deal done.