Ryan Nembhard

[Mavs2021]

I think there are big questions about guys like Coby White and Ball and whether it makes sense to trade for them, but I don't see Nembhard impacting those decisions.  There is a big difference between what makes sense for this team right now and what makes sense for building a long term contender.

I wanted White, when the Bulls were reluctant to extend him and he was available at 36/3. Now? I only want a Bulls deal, if we have already lined up a 1st round pick to move him along. Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta/Memphis, if they move on from Young/Morant. There are plenty of teams with middle to late 1st round picks that have different incentives to pull the trigger. I basically want two Bulls picks, turns White into a third and maybe get something for Vucevic, too.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

I wanted White, when the Bulls were reluctant to extend him and he was available at 36/3. Now? I only want a Bulls deal, if we have already lined up a 1st round pick to move him along. Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta/Memphis, if they move on from Young/Morant. There are plenty of teams with middle to late 1st round picks that have different incentives to pull the trigger. I basically want two Bulls picks, turns White into a third and maybe get something for Vucevic, too.

If all White is worth is a mid to late 1st (and you don't want to see what Nembhard  can do the rest of the season as starter), then simply do a 3 way:

Team X gets Naji 
Bulls get 1st
Mavs get White 

Or just Naji for White.  (Frankly, I think Naji has + value in that he has another year for cheap.

[Chicagojk]

I am no scout, I don't really follow any prospects before the draft so I am not trying to claim anything. However, I will never understand how this obviously extremely high basketball IQ guys that simply know how to play get so often overlooked and undervalued. Seems to me that teams really value athleticism and then hope that guys can develop other things. If they don't (which is often), these kind of players are simply useless. On the other hand, it seems to me that this high IQ guys most often know how to find their place and carve a role for themselves in the league. Find a way to work around their athletic limitations. And if nothing else, several of them became supperstars. There were several opinions that Luka will be limited by his (lack off) athleticism. Brunson was very much overlooked although he was a natural born winner and leader of two time NCAA winner. And obviously Jokic, who is arguably best player in the league and who is definitely not a good athlet in terms of physicality. Kudos to Mavs to finding Nembhard.

Looking at past drafts I can find scores of great athletes who never really learned how to play basketball at this level and turned into busts. Does anyone even remember any example of a FRP, who was an above average basketball IQ player but turned out a complete bust?

I was a big fan of Cam Spencer in the draft last year.  I have liked what I have seen from his brother (former lacrosse player).  I like what he says here.  Sure, you hit on a guy with traits and upside and it can change a franchise.  Although, if you consistently find guys who know how to play, you will hit more than you miss.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1p...ese_teams/

[Chicagojk]

Still not a lot of data but this matches the eye test.  Probably the biggest impact having Nembhard in the lineup.    


If you wanna jump on the Ryan Nembhard bandwagon, check out these Mavs turnover numbers, (he began starting 11/28).
Turnovers/game
10/22 - 11/24: 16.9 (3rd most in NBA)
11/28 - 12/08: 11.3 (fewest in NBA)
Asst/TO ratio:
10/22 - 11/24: 1.41 (30th)
11/28 - 12/08: 2.44 (2nd)

[KillerLeft]

Still not a lot of data but this matches the eye test.  Probably the biggest impact having Nembhard in the lineup.    


If you wanna jump on the Ryan Nembhard bandwagon, check out these Mavs turnover numbers, (he began starting 11/28).
Turnovers/game
10/22 - 11/24: 16.9 (3rd most in NBA)
11/28 - 12/08: 11.3 (fewest in NBA)
Asst/TO ratio:
10/22 - 11/24: 1.41 (30th)
11/28 - 12/08: 2.44 (2nd)

His impact has been obvious, but these numbers put an even clearer lens on it. The question for me is this: Is he that great, or is this just the natural result of having ANY competent point guard play in the mix, relative to how the team was assembled and played early? I suspect it's a bit of both.

[mvossman]

His impact has been obvious, but these numbers put an even clearer lens on it. The question for me is this: Is he that great, or is this just the natural result of having ANY competent point guard play in the mix, relative to how the team was assembled and played early? I suspect it's a bit of both.

I will add a third, he is on a heater that can't be sustained.  He will come back to earth.  The question is how far that fall will be.

[KillerLeft]

I will add a third, he is on a heater that can't be sustained.  He will come back to earth.  The question is how far that fall will be.

I think his scoring/shooting can be explained that way, and probably should be, but I think his impact on the general competency of the offense (even if only because he's qualified, and it could have been one of 20 guys) might persist, given how talented the rest of the team is. Not totally sure, but it might.

[Winter]

Mark Few said he was the best passer he'd ever seen when he was at Gonzaga. According to reports, Few sang his praises and pressed Matt Riccardi to find a 2nd round pick and draft him. While the best passer reference may be a bit over the top, I think it's relevant what his coach thought of him. It's obvious others trust him.

I'm really not worried about his scoring much. He never seems to force anything, so I suspect he'll bounce around between 8-16ppg with pretty good efficiency. His running the offense with a good assist average is where the need is for this team. I think that's playing to his strength so I'm hopeful.

[KillerLeft]

Mark Few said he was the best passer he'd ever seen when he was at Gonzaga. According to reports, Few sang his praises and pressed Matt Riccardi to find a 2nd round pick and draft him. While the best passer reference may be a bit over the top, I think it's relevant what his coach thought of him. It's obvious others trust him.

I'm really not worried about his scoring much. He never seems to force anything, so I suspect he'll bounce around between 8-16ppg with pretty good efficiency. His running the offense with a good assist average is where the need is for this team. I think that's playing to his strength so I'm hopeful.

I mean, insane heater or not, it's obvious that he UNDERSTANDS what's going on out there at a pretty high level. He knows how the actions develop, with variations, he knows when to let go of the ball and why, he knows when to keep driving and when to pull up for the mid-range jumper (the fact that he's making them is almost secondary to me, given what this offense has looked like with others playing the position recently - knowing what to do is a significant improvement). To this point, his physical skills haven't noticeably prevented him from accomplishing anything he's tried to accomplish on the floor. 

All of that is more than what we've seen from anyone who has played here recently outside of Luka and Brunson, and I don't think Brunson was this good at those things his first couple of seasons, honestly. If Nembhard can maintain this level of play (again, I don't care about his scoring/shooting staying this hot, I just mean running offense this competently) and he can IMPROVE in the coming weeks and years??? Very interesting, to say the least.

[Winter]

Yep. I posted Barea's and Brunson's rookie stats here once, and both really struggled to get minutes with Carlisle as rookies.

While Nembhard's recent play seems pretty extraordinary, at Gonzaga, Nembhard had a four-game stretch where he posted 51 points, 40 assists and only five TOs. Nothing he's doing now is that far outside of his last year at college. Plus he shot almost 40% on 3's his last year.

Indiana fans wanted the Pacers to take him in the second round for a chance at a "basketball bros" kind of thing with Andrew. Glad that didn't happen.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I already thought Lamelo Ball or Trae Young would be great fits on this team but after seeing the impact Nembhard has had, I'm even more curious.

Neither of those guys probably fits with Kyrie though.

[Chicagojk]

I will add a third, he is on a heater that can't be sustained.  He will come back to earth.  The question is how far that fall will be.

For sure.  I watched him shoot before a game that I went too.  I don't think he is a great shooter yet.  I think his mid range game is for real.  I just think he is going to have trouble to score.  He doesn't shoot a lot of free throws or have many easy baskets.  I expect to see his scoring slow down.

ONe of the benefits of his hot shooting though is teams may not play the pass as much now.  We will see.  I still think his main benefit is getting teammates good shots and limiting turnovers.  Both are very valuable.  Get good shots and limit the dumb turnovers and you make it harder for teams to beat you.

[Winter]

Nice broad evaluation of Nembhard posted yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL2kpajkNPk