Ryan Nembhard’s first season in Dallas didn’t exactly scream “forgettable,” but that’s where the conversation has landed anyway. The former undrafted guard played 60 games for the Mavericks, led the team in assists at 5.3 per game, and still seems to be getting buried in the shuffle after Dallas swapped him out for former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher.
That trade is easy to understand. A former top pick for an undrafted rookie is the kind of move teams make without hesitation, and on paper it already looks like a major win for Dallas. But the move also left behind a very real hole, because Nembhard wasn’t just a rotation piece - he was one of the Mavericks’ primary initiators.
His passing was the biggest thing Dallas lost. Nembhard finished fourth league-wide among 234 qualified players in assists per 36 minutes, which is a pretty loud number for a rookie who went undrafted.
He wasn’t just moving the ball; he was running the offense with a level of control and invention that Dallas didn’t have anywhere else. The pick-and-roll was a strength, and so was his ability to create something when a play seemed dead.
What made Nembhard even more valuable was how cleanly he fit alongside Cooper Flagg. The Flagg-Nembhard duo was Dallas’ only pairing to log 550 or more minutes and finish with a positive net rating.
The Mavericks had 19 other duos that cleared that same minutes threshold, and all of them came out negative. Even the 21st most-played pairing, Naji Marshall and Nembhard, posted a positive net rating.
That matters because Flagg was asked to handle point guard duties right away, and Nembhard took some of that weight off his shoulders. With Nembhard handling the playmaking, Flagg could spend less time trying to set everybody else up and more time playing with purpose. It was a useful partnership, and it was one Dallas clearly benefited from.
So while the Risacher trade has made it easy to brush Nembhard aside, his absence still leaves a problem the Mavericks haven’t solved yet. Dallas moved on from a guard who passed well, understood the game at a high level, and meshed with Flagg in a way nobody else on the roster did. That impact may not be fully appreciated until the 2026-27 season begins.
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Scheyer also acknowledged what the NBA represents, calling it the highest level of the sport, but his focus remains on Duke for now. For Dallas, the search eventually moved on to another target, while Scheyer's comments left little doubt that his commitment to the Blue Devils still outweighs the pull of a professional opportunity. [Read more 🡒]