Mavericks already settled on a signing that will reshape their future

In exactly one month, the Dallas Mavericks will officially complete the fan-favorite move of converting Ryan Nembhard's two-way contract to a standard deal. This was a move that every fan expected (and had been begging for) after watching the recent tear that he's been on, and NBA insider Marc Stein confirmed Dallas' thinking (subscription required) on this process on Friday.

"League sources tell The Stein Line that the Mavericks have already committed to converting Nembhard to a standard contract as soon as they can," Stein reported. "They don't have the financial wiggle room under the second apron of the league's luxury tax system to do so until early January as their roster stands."

Dallas isn't messing around here. Nembhard has played his way into a standard deal with his elite passing, strong 3-point shooting, and ability to "calm the group," as Jason Kidd noted earlier this week, and the Mavs now have two star rookies in town.

Dallas has already made their choice on Ryan Nembhard

Nembhard has stolen Dallas' starting point guard spot from D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Williams despite being an undrafted rookie, and this was the last thing that fans expected heading into the season.

Seemingly every MFFL was excited to watch Nembhard's development up close and personal, and most fans believed that he could crack the rotation, but no one knew that he would be the team's starting point guard less than two months into the season. Williams was expected to take a leap, and Russell was the team's big free agency addition.

Nembhard has already beaten both of them out, and by the sound of it, the Mavericks want to make him a key piece of their core by signing him to a standard deal on January 6. Dallas is hard-capped at the second apron for the time being, but they will sign Nembhard as soon as possible.

The most likely move seems like it'll be waiving Dante Exum (who is out for the season) and signing Nembhard, and despite all of the outside noise, Nembhard is focused on winning games. Not the new contract that will be waiting for him in 31 days.

"I’ll let my agents and everybody figure that out," Nembhard said when asked about the possibility of the Mavericks converting his two-way to a standard deal on Wednesday. "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."

Bingo.

Nembhard hit the nail on the head.

This is the exact response that you want from your rookie point guard, and he is remaining even-keeled despite becoming one of the Mavericks' more popular players overnight. He is locked in on being the best player that he can be. His new contract and future in Dallas will handle itself, and with Stein's new report, it sounds like it already has.

Nembhard's ascension has been one of the top stories of the season, and the fact that Dallas is already determined to give him a standard contract shows how much they cherish him and his skill set. The Mavericks have been extremely high on Nembhard since long before Summer League, and their admiration for the young guard only increased over time.

Shutting down an undrafted rookie after just three Summer League games because they had seen enough is not something that happens every day, and that's the exact position that they were in with Nembhard. He wowed the Mavericks enough to have his Summer League cut short, and his work in between Summer League and training camp definitely paid off.

One Mavericks staffer told The Smoking Cuban that Nembhard wouldn't play much for the Texas Legends before the season even began, and he was right. He played one game for the Legends earlier this season, finishing with 26 points and 10 assists, and that was likely his last G League game of the season.

The Mavericks want Ryan Nembhard to be part of their future, and their interest in him stretches all the way back to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, according to Stein. Dallas considered landing Cooper Flagg and Nembhard to be a "dream draft-week scenario," and they got lucky enough for this to fall into their lap despite not owning a second-round pick.

The next step in this process? Signing Nembhard to a standard contract.