Mart in the NBA

[Catmandoo78]

I think the odds are pretty good he gets drafted. In a typical year, he’d be an extremely long shot but outside of the lottery picks (which are very strong this year), the rest of the draft STINKS. Anyone with eligibility is staying in school because they can make way more money via NIL than they can on a 2nd round contract.

He’s currently 64 on ESPN’s big board, but there are dozens of guys ahead of him who are very likely to withdraw their name after the combine and return to college.

 

[EagerFan]

I think his best bet is a late 2nd round draft pick that puts him in the G League with a chance to showcase himself in the Summer League in a few months. A two way contract is possible, but without a strong showing over the summer on the "right" team, I don't think it happens.

 

[CatManTrue]

He may get drafted late in the second round.

If he doesn’t, can he come back to Evanston under this new 5-in-5 rule?

He didn’t even play 15% of possible minutes as a freshman

 

[Catmandoo78]

He may get drafted late in the second round.

If he doesn’t, can he come back to Evanston under this new 5-in-5 rule?

He didn’t even play 15% of possible minutes as a freshman

No, they’ve said nobody is grandfathered in.

 

[Deeringfish]

No, they’ve said nobody is grandfathered in.

Perhaps in this case it will serve Mart well. One more year at NU wouldn't have changed his resume' much and he might not be so central to another team to be top scorer in the league again.

 

[CatManTrue]

No, they’ve said nobody is grandfathered in.

Lawyers exist for a reason! Can @xxxbobxxx help?

 

[CatManTrue]

Perhaps in this case it will serve Mart well. One more year at NU wouldn't have changed his resume' much and he might not be so central to another team to be top scorer in the league again.

Or he could make a couple of million for one final year in Evanston with the first year of his Master’s for FREE.

Two thumbs… WAY up

 

[Catmandoo78]

Lawyers exist for a reason! Can @xxxbobxxx help?

Timelines are too tight for courts to help. The draft is like 6 weeks away.

 

[EagerFan]

Matt is reporting that Nick (one of 73) has been invited to the 2026 Combine, so there's his next big chance to shine and impress.

 

[jschufreider]

ESPN ‘s mock draft after the lottery today predicts Nick going in the 2nd round to the Pelicans.

 

[GatoLouco]

 

[EagerFan]

So many seniors on the list. Is that typical over the last ten years? I admit total ignorance on this part of the draft. The list looks like the potential second rounders trying to showcase themselves.

 

[Catmandoo78]

So many seniors on the list. Is that typical over the last ten years? I admit total ignorance on this part of the draft. The list looks like the potential second rounders trying to showcase themselves.

No extremely atypical. The draft has the lowest number of non-senior entries in 20+ years thanks to NIL making it very lucrative for kids who aren’t guaranteed first rounders to stay in college as long as possible.

 

[jschufreider]

The New York Times has him going to the Warriors

 

[MCC_Cat]

The New York Times has him going to the Warriors

I'd love that.

 

[jschufreider]

He’d have a better chance of making the Pelicans

 

[DkeCat]

Nick not exactly crushing it on the measurements - going to have to show some high BB IQ in the scrimmages

Northwestern's Nick Martinelli Shows Out at 2026 NBA Draft Combine

The Wildcats star gives his first look at the NBA Draft Combine's drills.

roundtable.io

 

[TheC]

Nick not exactly crushing it on the measurements - going to have to show some high BB IQ in the scrimmages

Northwestern's Nick Martinelli Shows Out at 2026 NBA Draft Combine

The Wildcats star gives his first look at the NBA Draft Combine's drills.

roundtable.io

His athleticism is what it is. Scouts will know his limitations already. The shooting numbers aren't the greatest, but I can't imagine scouts care that much about 30 shots in a one-time drill compared to multiple years of stats at the highest level of college ball.

 

[EagerFan]

I'm surprised at the shooting numbers; he must have been really nervous because he's generally a lot better than that unguarded.

When I looked at the NBA official combine information, it didn't have anything on anyone beyond the anthropometric stuff. Hopefully the rest of the data will be posted soon.

One of the things that entertained me about the anthro stuff is just how many players are inches shorter than listed. Like some guys are three plus inches shorter in their socks. How far does your draft stock tumble when it turns out you're only 6'5" rather than the 6'8" you've been promoting for the last few years?

 

[EagerFan]

Aaaand the S&A stats are up now.

Standing Vertical #1 - 40.0 inches
Max Vertical #1 - 45.5 inches
Lane Agility: #1 - 10.23 seconds
Shuttle Run #1 - 2.48 seconds
3/4 Sprint #1 - 3.06 seconds


Nick (6' 6.50"; 223.6 lbs) standing reach: 8' 8.5" wingspan: 6' 10.0"
from the link:

• No Stop Vertical Jump: 26.5 inches
• Maximum Vertical Jump: 33.0 inches
• Pro Lane Agility drill: 11.01 seconds
• Shuttle Run: 2.88 seconds
• 3/4 Square Run: 3.48 seconds

Edit: just for a familiar forward comparison,
Trey Kaufman-Renn: (6' 7.75"; 241 lbs) standing reach: 8' 9.5" wingspan: 6' 10.5"
Standing: 29.0
Max: 33.0
Lane: 11.06
Shuttle: 3.01
3/4: 3.37

 

[DkeCat]

Great first scrimmage.

 

[TheC]

18 points on 7/11 shooting. That works!

 

[prez77]

18 points on 7/11 shooting. That works!

They don’t have a drill for weird releases and arm angles.

 

[Deeringfish]

They don’t have a drill for weird releases and arm angles.

I was thinking that exact thing. No matter his measurables, his "Herky Jerky" movement means you have to prepare for him in addition to every normal moving human being.

 

[EagerFan]

2026 Draft Combine | Nick Martinelli

Nick Martinelli – F | Northwestern speaks to the media during the 2026 Draft Combine ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft. Your Home. Your Hive. Our Time! 26-27 Se

bvmsports.com

Looks like he had at least 13 points and 5 rebounds Day Two, but I can't find box scores for this stuff anywhere.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Perhaps in this case it will serve Mart well. One more year at NU wouldn't have changed his resume' much and he might not be so central to another team to be top scorer in the league again.

But he’d make better money for another year of college than in minor league ball

 

[AdamOnFirst]

On the topic in general: I’ve said it before but I am EXTREMELY confident Nicky Buckets will have a very very fine professional career (assuming health, etc). I’m not sure what country it will be in. He improved his shooting enough last year that he will get real looks as a role player in the NBA, but it’s tough to see him being allowed to do much of his midrange game in a modern offense. Maybe a little of the hook shot stuff.

But if that doesn’t work out, he can go to Europe and go friggin’ nuts S a lead scorer somewhere over there where his weird, varied, type-defying game can just be unleashed to score points.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

On the topic in general: I’ve said it before but I am EXTREMELY confident Nicky Buckets will have a very very fine professional career (assuming health, etc). I’m not sure what country it will be in. He improved his shooting enough last year that he will get real looks as a role player in the NBA, but it’s tough to see him being allowed to do much of his midrange game in a modern offense. Maybe a little of the hook shot stuff.

But if that doesn’t work out, he can go to Europe and go friggin’ nuts S a lead scorer somewhere over there where his weird, varied, type-defying game can just be unleashed to score points.

Italian League seems like a no brainer.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Italian League seems like a no brainer.

I can think of worse lives than being the top paint bucket getter for the Spicy Meatballs Florence BC for half a dozen years.

 

[Catmandoo78]

He’ll get his cup of coffee in the NBA first. At this point as more and more guys have left the draft to go back to college, he’s definitely getting drafted in the second round. It won’t be a guaranteed deal and will be a paycut from what he got his last year of college. But he’ll get a year to develop on a two way contract.

And then probably headed to Europe. Italy would be awesome.

 

[jensberg]

C b s sports just put out their top one hundred players in the n b a draft post combine and have mart as number eighty three, seems much lower than what we've heard from other sources

 

[macarthur31]

Italian League seems like a no brainer.

I wonder if he'd qualify for Italian passport by descent. He likely could get a roster spot there as an American - but having the Italian passport would relieve one less barrier.

 

[EagerFan]

Let's hurry up and get this draft thing over with so we can get to the summer league and watch some more games.

 

[Deeringfish]

He’ll get his cup of coffee in the NBA first. At this point as more and more guys have left the draft to go back to college, he’s definitely getting drafted in the second round. It won’t be a guaranteed deal and will be a paycut from what he got his last year of college. But he’ll get a year to develop on a two way contract.

And then probably headed to Europe. Italy would be awesome.

I wonder when the NBA starts competing with colleges for talent? So far it seems like they are happy to let high quality players exhaust their eligibility.

 

[EagerFan]

The NBA has had a surplus of talented players for decades now. I suspect they're generally happy to scrape the very best of the cream off the top and let the rest get some more practice time.