The face of the statement jerseys looks to take another step after signing an extension over the summer.
The Charlotte Hornets didn’t do much of anything this past offseason. The one thing they did do was re-sign wing Cody Martin to a 4-year, $32 million contract. The 27-year-old has established himself as the quintessential glue guy hustle player that every team needs in their rotation.
Last season was Martin’s best as a pro. He averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while becoming a threat from the 3-point line. After shooting 25.2% from deep in his first two seasons, Martin upped that percentage to 38.4% in year three. It was the most glaring flaw in his game, and it was exciting to see him patch that up.
The biggest question mark for Martin will be how sustainable the uptick in 3-point shooting is. He started the season very hot from deep, but his 3-point shooting percentage steadily dropped as the season went along. He’ll need to prove that last season wasn’t a mirage and that he is a legitimate threat from the outside.
Otherwise, Martin’s game is pretty well established. He’s going to play very good perimeter defense and take more charges than almost anyone else in the league. He’ll be an engine for the team while on the floor, running on the break and making hustle plays all over the floor. Offensively, he connects the offense very well and is a very underrated passer. He doesn’t have the mentality or creativity to be a high level scorer, but not everyone can try to be the team’s leading scorer.
Martin can be expected to put up numbers similar to what we saw last season, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see a slight uptick in offensive numbers given the trust the team has shown in him by inking him to a long term contract extension and making him the model of the team’s new statement jersey unveil.