Ryan

Nembhard

The second-year man was waived by the Hornets less than a week ago, and it didn’t take long for him to find a new team. With LaMelo Ball playing in Minnesota and Kon Knueppel (hamstring) banged up, more minutes could be up for grabs in Charlotte’s backcourt, but it will be tough for Nembhard to see enough court time to be fantasy relevant.

Nembhard, who appeared in 60 games and averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as a rookie with the Mavericks, has been traded twice this offseason. Acquired from the Hawks on Tuesday in a trade that sent Dorian Finney-Smith to Atlanta, the 6-foot guard will reportedly be waived. Once he clears waivers, Nembhard will become an unrestricted free agent. Staying with the Hornets would have eliminated what little fantasy value he had, as Charlotte has Coby White, Dennis Schröder and first-round pick Christian Anderson at point guard.

The full deal was Nembhard, Buddy Hield and cash for Dorian Finney-Smith. After going undrafted in 2025, Nembhard had a solid rookie year for Dallas. However, they ended up trading him to Atlanta in July, and he has now been swung to Charlotte. He’ll likely compete with Dennis Schroder and Christian Anderson for some of the backup point guard minutes behind Coby White.

The deal had been rumored in recent days, and now it’s happening. Charlotte acquired DFS and three second-round picks in a cost-cutting move for the Rockets in July and have now swung him to Atlanta. The three-and-D forward should fill out some depth minutes for the Hawks behind Jalen Johnson, but it is unlikely he plays significant minutes, barring an injury.

Nembhard carved out a role for himself on Dallas last season after going undrafted and proved he could be a reliable table-setter. Atlanta brought back CJ McCollum, drafted Kingston Flemings and traded for Devin Carter, so Nembhard will likely be competing with Carter for a few minutes off the bench in the backcourt. However, if injuries pop up, Nembhard will be able to fill in temporarily and provide plenty of assists.

The former No. 1 overall pick wasn’t able to figure things out in Atlanta, but he’ll get a fresh start in Dallas. With Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz running the show for the Mavs, they have rebuilt this roster around Cooper Flagg by adding multiple new players in the frontcourt, including Risacher, Santi Aldama and Morez Johnson. Risacher’s role will likely be limited off the bench to start his tenure with Dallas, though a fresh start on a rebuilding team could yield him the opportunity to develop into the player the Hawks hoped he would become. The three second-round picks heading to OKC are Chicago’s 2027 pick from Dallas and most favorable picks in 2031 and 2032 from Atlanta.

Nembhard dished out 23 assists in the final regular season game of his rookie season, and he picked up right where he left off in that one. He was a high-level passer last summer, and he should be a reliable ball handling option in his second season as well. He may not play many more games in Las Vegas.

While Nembhard failed to grab that elusive tenth rebound, he did make some franchise history in Sunday’s season finale. His 23 assists were a single-game franchise rookie record and two shy of the league record. Add in an efficient night shooting the basketball, and this was an excellent finish to the season for Nembhard. While he played well enough to earn a standard contract, the expected return of Kyrie Irving limits Nembhard’s fantasy value in 2026-27, in both redraft and dynasty leagues.

Martin and Williams are on track to remain sidelined for the Mavericks’ regular-season finale. While the latter has missed the last three games, the former has not played since March 15. Ryan Nembhard started and logged 31 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Spurs, while AJ Johnson played 20 off the bench. Expect a similar approach on Sunday.

Marshall will miss a second consecutive game with a hip contusion. Ryan Nembhard started Wednesday’s loss to the Suns, but it was John Poulakidis who offered the most value, as he scored a career-high 23 points off the bench. Both rookies should play plenty in Friday’s game.