Mavericks' Ryan Nembhard homecoming isn't as easy as it seems

The Charlotte Hornets plan to waive Ryan Nembhard after acquiring him in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks today, but the Dallas Mavericks' path to signing him back wouldn't be easy by any means. Some Mavericks fans on social media have already been clamoring for Dallas to sign him back once he becomes a free agent, but there's a roadblock in front of them keeping them from smoothly making such a move.

Dallas doesn't have the roster space to sign Ryan Nembhard

The team's 15-man roster is already filled along with all three two-way spots.

Dallas would have to waive someone to make room for Nembhard, and when looking at the 15-man roster, there aren't many players who make sense to cut to bring him back. The Mavericks' backcourt is already thin, with just Kyrie Irving, Marcus Sasser, and Sergio De Larrea holding down the point guard position.

It seems extremely unlikely that Dallas would consider parting ways with any of their guards to sign Nembhard to another standard deal, meaning they would need to look at the frontcourt for potential cut candidates. One of the only players who would make sense to waive for Nembhard would be Moussa Cisse, but even then, the Mavericks matched the New York Knicks' two-year offer sheet to keep him in Dallas.

Cisse's energy, shot-blocking, and athleticism were all strong during his rookie season, and it would be shocking to see the Mavs move on after being intentional about keeping him in Dallas. With the Mavericks' 15-man roster all but guaranteed, this leaves one of the two-way players as the only logical candidates who could get waived.

Another two-way contract is the realistic path for Nembhard

A two-way contract seems like the most likely next step for Nembhard, as this is what he started on last season with Dallas. The fact that both teams that had him this summer after Dallas, the Hawks and Hornets, moved on so quickly says something. Even after he led all rookies in assists per game, neither team wanted to hold onto him.

This means that a two-way deal is far more likely than a team offering him another standard contract, considering that he was only on a standard deal for less than a year before Charlotte decided to waive him.

With this in mind, the Mavs would need to waive one of their three two-way players to bring Nemby home. Dallas' three two-way players are John Poulakidas, Jett Howard, and Tobi Lawal. The Mavericks just used a second-round pick on Lawal earlier this summer, seemingly making his spot on the team safer than his other two-way counterparts.

This leaves Poulakidas and Howard as possible candidates to get waived to bring in Nembhard, but even this idea seems like a long shot. Poulakidas shot over 40 percent from three as a rookie, and Dallas' new front-office duo of Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz signed Howard earlier this summer. This same tandem also moved on from Nembhard in the Zaccharie Risacher trade, showing at least some doubt in his game despite him averaging 6.6 points and 5.3 assists per game in his first season.

The idea of Dallas bringing back Nembhard is fun, but they don't have roster space to play with. Things could be different if the Mavericks kept one of their two-way spots open, but since they didn't, a different team will probably snatch him up in free agency.

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