Ryan Nembhard’s NBA path is already taking another sharp turn.
Just weeks after Atlanta acquired the former Gonzaga point guard in a July trade for No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, the Hawks are sending Nembhard, Buddy Hield and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for Dorian Finney-Smith, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Nembhard is expected to be waived by Charlotte, and he has already attracted interest from other teams with training camp less than a week away.
For Nembhard, the movement has come fast. He went undrafted after a record-setting senior season at Gonzaga in 2024-25, then landed a two-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks. From there, he carved out a rookie year that far outpaced expectations.
The 6-foot point guard played in 60 games for Dallas and posted 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and only 1.4 turnovers in 19.5 minutes per game while shooting 35.6% from three. He also put together a ridiculous eight-game run from late November into mid-December, starting every game in that stretch and averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 assists and 1.9 turnovers in 27.4 minutes. During that span, he shot 60.5% on twos and 54.8% from deep, going 17-for-31 from three.
That surge included a 28-point, 10-assist, zero-turnover performance at Denver on 12-for-14 shooting, then a 15-point, 13-assist, one-turnover night against Miami two days later. He finished the season by putting up 15 points, 23 assists and nine rebounds in the regular-season finale against Chicago, breaking coach Jason Kidd’s franchise record for assists in a game by a rookie.
Dallas moved on from Kidd in the offseason and brought in former Michigan coach Dusty May, and the roster reshuffle pushed Nembhard to Atlanta in the Risacher deal. He had been lined up to battle for minutes at point guard behind veteran CJ McCollum and rookie Kingston Flemings, but now he appears headed elsewhere again.
Charlotte’s own backcourt traffic jam helps explain the move. The Hornets also used a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA draft on a point guard, taking Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, who will compete with Dennis Schroder to back up Coby White. That leaves little room for Nembhard, which is why he is expected to be waived and become available for another team before camp opens.
Nembhard’s college résumé remains loaded. He spent two years at Gonzaga after starting at Creighton, and in 2024-25 he broke Gonzaga’s single-season assist record with 344, the fifth-highest total in recorded college basketball history. He finished his college career with 882 assists between Creighton and Gonzaga, ranking 23rd all-time, and he stands 14th in WCC history despite playing only two seasons in the league.
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