Mavericks' Zaccharie Risacher steal is making it easy to overlook Ryan Nembhard

Former Dallas Mavericks point guard Ryan Nembhard has been overlooked for quite some time. After all, he went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and then appeared in 60 games.

Ryan Nembhard provided something Dallas can't easily replace

Alas, despite putting together a strong rookie season, Nembhard's impact continues to be overlooked, as he's seemingly been forgotten amongst Mavs fans. However, that's certainly understandable, considering Dallas landed former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in exchange for him, but Nembhard's departure still leaves the Mavericks with a problem that's impossible to ignore.

Dallas lost one of its primary initiators when it parted ways with Nembhard. The undrafted guard led the Mavericks in assists last season, averaging 5.3 per contest. In fact, he's the only undrafted player to do so. So Dallas is losing a pretty important piece, yet the reaction has been anything but raucous.

While the 5-foot-11 guard was expendable, as evidenced by Dallas' decision to trade him, he provided a pair of much-needed skill sets the Mavericks have yet to replace: his passing and his cohesion with franchise star Cooper Flagg.

Nembhard's importance became clear in the numbers

Of course, as mentioned earlier, Nembhard's passing is pretty much irreplaceable. He led the Mavericks in assists as an undrafted rookie and even placed fourth league-wide among 234 qualified players in assists per 36 minutes. There aren't many passers better than Nembhard, nor are there many commanding playmakers like him.

Nembhard operated the pick-and-roll with precision, brought passing creativity no other Maverick brings, and saw plays two steps ahead of the rest, utilizing his passing acumen to make something out of nothing.

Moreover, his partnership with Flagg really stood out and should have impressed Mavs fans, let alone the organization. The Flagg-Nembhard pairing was Dallas' only duo to play 550 or more minutes with a positive net rating. The Mavericks' other 19 most-played pairings to eclipse 550 minutes all recorded negative net ratings.

Interestingly enough, the Mavericks' 21st most-played duo, Naji Marshall and Nembhard, also posted a positive net rating, meaning Nembhard was responsible for two of Dallas' best-performing higher-minute duos.

Nembhard worked especially well with Flagg. He relieved pressure from his fellow overworked rookie counterpart. As we know, Flagg was thrust into point guard duties immediately in Dallas, and the results weren't pretty. Nembhard eased the pressure on Flagg, allowing the former No. 1 overall pick to play with more precision by spending less time focusing on making plays for others. That was Nembhard's job.

Yet, Nembhard's impact is almost entirely forgotten because the Mavericks made the shrewd move of acquiring Risacher in exchange for him. A former No. 1 overall pick for an undrafted rookie. It's a trade you make 100 times out of 100, and it already looks like a steal in Dallas' favor. Nonetheless, Nembhard's skill set was imperative to how the Mavericks operated. Now, he's gone without an identifiable replacement.

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