Report: Ryan Nembhard shot ‘better than expected’ while Alijah Martin had ‘really good’ day in Cavs workouts

The Cleveland Cavaliers have two second-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, and they have worked out some players that could end up landing in Cleveland depending on how the draft unfolds.

According to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, guards Ryan Nembhard and Alijah Martin are among the players that the Cavs could consider in the second round of the draft later this week.

“Can a team really go wrong with a Nembhard?” Fedor wrote. “Ryan is not his older brother (Andrew). He lacks size and strength, standing at 6-foot-0 as opposed to 6-foot-4. That may prevent him from becoming the same defensive irritant. But Ryan is a heady, playmaking point guard who led the nation in assists and shot it better than expected during a recent workout with Cleveland decision-makers. He can run an offense. He is tough and mature. Scrappy, too — it’s a Nembhard thing. There’s a fit for someone like him on an NBA roster.”

Ryan Nembhard spent the last two seasons at Gonzaga University after playing two years at Creighton University.

In the 2023-24 season, the Gonzaga star led the West Coast Conference in assists per game (6.9) while averaging 12.6 points per game. He followed that up with an even more impressive season in the 2024-25 campaign, leading all of NCAA Division I men’s hoops in assists per game with 9.8. He also led the WCC in steals per game in the 2024-25 season (1.7).

If he can prove that he’s a better shooter than his career 3-point average in college (34.7 percent) indicates, then he could make sense for a team like the Cavs as a second-round flier. He did shoot 40.4 percent from deep in his final season in college.

As for Martin, he was a part of the University of Florida team that won the national title in the 2024-25 season. According to Fedor, he had a “really good” workout with the Cavs.

“Martin had what one source characterized as a ‘really good’ workout in Cleveland, showing the toughness, strength, athleticism, motor, defensive tenacity, shooting and versatility that made him an integral piece of the national champion Gators,” Fedor wrote.

“Even though Martin is listed at 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, his 6-foot-7 wingspan allows him to defend multiple positions.

“Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman has deep ties to the University of Florida through former Columbia head coach Kyle Smith — a Smith coaching tree has now extended south. Smith’s early staff included Altman and four current Florida coaches — Carlin Hartman, Kevin Hovde, John Andrzejek and head coach Todd Golden. Altman is close to each. He talks with them often. He trusts them. Has intimate knowledge of every draft-eligible Gator, including Martin. Nobody will have better intel.”

During his fifth and final collegiate season (the 2024-25 campaign), Martin averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. He previously spent four seasons at Florida Atlantic University, where he had one season with a 3-point percentage of 40.0.

While the Cavs likely won’t be expecting any player they draft in the second round to make an immediate impact next season, it would be nice to land a player that could grow into a role in the rotation in the future.

Cleveland is coming off a season where it earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but ended up losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Hopefully, the Cavs can build a roster in the offseason that is better equipped to make a deep playoff run in the 2025-26 campaign.