Mavericks suddenly have chance to bring Nembhard brothers together in miracle trade

The Dallas Mavericks were spiraling into disaster until they found Ryan Nembhard. Now, as they climb back up the standings, there may just be a path to adding a dream addition to their backcourt and doubling their Nembhards in the process.

Andrew Nembhard followed a similar path to his brother Ryan. Both transferred to Gonzaga to finish their college careers, were thought to be fringe NBA prospects, hit the ground running as rookies and now are proving their worth in a major way.

For Andrew, that meant falling to the second round and fighting his way to the starting lineup almost immediately. This season with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined with a torn Achilles, Andrew has been the starting point guard for the Indiana Pacers, the offensive co-star along with Pascal Siakam as well as the player tasked with defending the opposing team's best players. It's a tall task, to be sure.

Andrew looks like the perfect player for the Mavericks, who need two-way players in the worst way and could use someone with the ability to play next to an on-ball point guard like he has developed in Indiana. If they could possibly work out a trade for the underpaid guard they could pair the Nembhard brothers for the next few months and then have a three-guard rotation built around Kyrie Irving.

How could such a trade be possible? Given how much the Pacers value Andrew, such a trade seems unlikely -- but connecting the dots of recent reporting could make the path forward come into focus.

The Mavericks could trade for Andrew Nembhard

It is no secret that the Pacers lack a starting center, cobbling together a rotation of Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff and Tony Bradley, none of whom should be more than backups on a good team. With Myles Turner now in Milwaukee, that position is wide open for the first time in a long while, and it would make sense for the Pacers to pursue a long-term option to be in place when Haliburton returns next season.

One center they have been linked to by Jake Fischer of The Stein Line and others is Daniel Gafford. The Mavericks signed him to an extension this summer that specifically ensured he would remain trade eligible, and with Anthony Davis thriving at center (surprising no one except perhaps the Mavericks) it only makes Gafford more available for the right price.

For the Pacers to trade for Gafford, however, they need to be able to match his salary. Their options to do so are somewhat limited, and probably comes down to either Bennedict Mathurin or Andrew Nembhard. While Nembhard is the better player, he is also 2.5 years older than Mathurin and has a very different skillset. It's not inconceivable that the Pacers like the mix of Mathurin with their other pieces and would rather get value coming back with Gafford than send it to the Mavericks with Mathurin.

If Dallas attached a pick to Gafford, could Andrew Nembhard make his way to Texas? He makes $18 million this season and is under contract for $40.5 million over the next two seasons, a margain for his level of two-way play. Stacking up savvy, experienced players around Cooper Flagg makes sense given his all-around ability and competitive fire.

The cost obviously matters, as the Mavericks are limited in their future draft capital. If they want to keep their foot on the gas rather than leaning into a reset, however, this is one path forward. As remarkable as it seems, forming a double-Nembhard backcourt is not all that far-fetched anymore.

Double the Nembhards, double the fun.