The NBA Draft has come and gone, and the Dallas Mavericks aced their one and only selection in what has the potential to be one of the best-producing draft classes in recent memory. With the selection of Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks now set themselves up for a future with a two-way star leading the way and a possible face of the franchise who could win multiple titles with Dallas.
While this year's draft night will be remembered for the Mavericks' selection of Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick, the Mavericks failed to trade into the draft for any potential guards to replace Kyrie Irving, as he remains sidelined due to an ACL injury. In addition to the Mavericks failing to trade into the first round of the draft, Nico Harrison also failed to draft Flagg's former college teammate, Tyrese Proctor, who could have been the perfect name to add alongside Flagg.
Despite not trading back into the first or even second round of the draft, the Mavericks silenced fans' concerns by signing a former college standout guard from the University of Gonzaga in Ryan Nembhard, who will hopefully help Mavs fans forget that they ever wanted Proctor.
Mavericks sign Ryan Nembhard after not trading for Tyrese Proctor
After selecting Flagg with the first overall pick, Harrison and the Mavericks front office understood their biggest need shifted to trying to acquire a young guard to pair alongside Flagg. Not only would adding a young guard to pair with Flagg be beneficial for Dallas' long-term success, but replacing Irving with a stopgap ball handler is the team's number one priority.
With this in mind, the Mavericks signed Ryan Nembhard to a two-way deal rather than trading into the second round for someone like Proctor, as Nembhard was a standout collegiate guard at Gonzaga and even led the entire NCAA in assists per game last season.
While Nembhard wasn't in the top list of guards available at this year's draft, the 22-year-old point guard made a name for himself this past season as an older guard who can be trusted with the ball in his hand. In his senior season with the Bulldogs, Nembhard led the entire NCAA with 344 assists and an average of 9.8 assists per contest.
To call Nembhard a pro-ready guard would be an understatement despite going undrafted and only signing a two-way deal with Dallas. The Mavericks' biggest need has been a ball handler and facilitator since trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and if Nembhard progresses alongside Flagg, he could be the point guard of the future in Dallas.
Nembhard made his money in the pick and roll with his ability to lob to the Bulldogs' big men or even find an outside shooter on the weakside of the floor. With the Summer League fast approaching, Nembhard will be on every Mavericks fan's radar as they tune in to see what he can bring to Dallas on a two-way deal.
While Nembhard could have a day-one role in a Mavs uniform, fans shouldn't expect the four-year college guard to come out of the gates and be the facilitator he was in college. As any rookie would in their first year as a pro, Nembhard is gonna take time before he can be listed as a stop-gap ball-handler in Dallas.
One of Nembhard's biggest flaws in college was his inability to affect the offensive end with his playmaking ability. Assuming the Gonzaga guard can work on his scoring capabilities this season in Dallas, he could be the perfect name to pair alongside Flagg as both players progress.
