The Dallas Mavericks will have to wait on solidifying the Ryan Nembhard Experience.
The Dallas Mavericks may have found their point guard of the future, but they'll have to wait until the future comes for that to be set into stone.
Undrafted rookie Ryan Nembhard has come alive with two career-defining, and potentially season-altering games, which have contributed to two of Dallas' season-long three consecutive wins.
Nembhard exploded for a 28-point double-double with 10 assists, both career highs, in the Mavs' comeback win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday. He followed that up with another double-double of 15 points and 13 assists to set another personal best in helpers on Wednesday against the Miami Heat.
He is the only rookie in NBA history to have a two-game span of at least 43 points, 23 assists and 1 or fewer turnovers, since turnovers began being tracked in 1997-98.
The only problem ... Nembhard remains on a two-way contract, where he splits time with the Mavs and G-League affiliate Texas Legends.
Dallas has notoriously struggled with playmaking as Kyrie Irving has remained injured to start the year. Nembhard and Brandon Williams have done well in picking up some of the slack (D'Angelo Russell has all but lost a rotation spot at this point), but the help likely can't stay on a full-time basis based on Nembhard's terms.
The league's collective bargaining agreement prevents Dallas from converting Nembhard's two-way deal into a standard contract because the team is hard-capped at the second apron, not allowing another roster spot to open up until Jan. 6.
Nembhard is only allowed 50 NBA games on his current contract, but with his workload and role growing seemingly every night, the team cannot afford to waste all of his available games this early in the season if he is not ultimately converted onto a full-time deal.
Even once Jan. 6 arrives, the Mavs will have to release a player in order to make room for the rookie. The team is allowed 15 standard contracts along with three two-way players, and Dallas is at that maximum.
The most likely scenario is Dallas waiving veteran guard Dante Exum, who is expected to out indefinitely with a knee issue that stems from an offseason procedure he has not yet been cleared to return from. This swap is possible, but it cannot come until Jan. 6 when restrictions are lifted.
So for now, there is nothing left to do but wait...
“I’ll let my agents and everybody figure that out," Nembhard said this week about the idea of a conversion. "At the end of the day, if I go on the court and handle business and do my job at a high level, then that will all take care of itself when the time comes.
"I’m not too concerned about that. I’m just trying to win games and enjoy hooping.”
Nembhard has raised his averages to 8.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
The team will also continue to enjoy the promise that this dynamic rookie duo has brought on a nightly basis to spark optimism back into a franchise that had gotten off to a rough start in 2025-26.
Nembhard and first overall pick Cooper Flagg have been exciting to watch in recent weeks. The duo's chemistry has developed off the court, and translated onto it as they've navigated their rookie year together.
“Ryan is the type of player where he’s easy to play alongside," Flagg said after Wednesday's game. "He just makes everyone better out there… He’s ultra confident. I love playing with Ryan… He’s a great player and a great person.”
“Just the relationship, the chemistry that they have for one another," said head coach Jason Kidd about the players' relationship. "I think something that’s not talked about is [Flagg's] cheering for his teammates, and that he cheers for Ryan, he wants Ryan to be successful and you can see that and hear that on the floor… They both want each other to be successful.”
On this pace, the two have plenty to look forward to in Dallas ... once both are officially signed for the long-term.