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Nuggets sign ex-Mavericks undrafted gritty guard for major opportunity to pair with Nikola Jokic
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- Nuggets sign ex-Mavericks undrafted gritty guard for major opportunity to pair with Nikola Jokic
Nuggets sign ex-Mavericks undrafted gritty guard for major opportunity to pair with Nikola Jokic originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Denver Nuggets are trying to make do with the little bit of money they have available. The lack of cap space has been an issue this summer, which is a major reason why they had to ship Peyton Watson off.
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However, there are still ways to make small moves that could be impactful. Over the last week, they have shown interest in undrafted guard Ryan Nembhard.
"As we've been reporting for several days, Nembhard has strong interest from Denver and some other yet-to-be-disclosed teams … many of whom would have to create an open two-way contract spot to sign him," The Stein Line's Marc Stein posted.
Their strategy of targeting under-the-radar players this summer could pay major dividends. On Wednesday, Denver signed Nembhard to a two-way deal and waived another player in the process.
"After receiving multiple two-way offers, Ryan Nembhard has chosen to sign with Denver, which was seen as the leader in the clubhouse from the jump. The Nuggets must waive one of their three current two-ways to formally add Nembhard and are expected to part ways with KJ Simpson ," Stein posted.
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The Nuggets are making these moves for a reason. They believe these players, who have a chip on their shoulders, can make a huge difference. Denver signed Cam Whitmore a few weeks ago with the same goal in mind as it had with Nembhard. The undersized guard could very well earn meaningful minutes at some point.
"The Nuggets signed Ryan Nembhard and Cam Whitmore to two-way contracts this offseason. Great value for Denver, especially as a second apron team, as both Nembhard and Whitmore could play meaningful minutes throughout the regular season," NBA writer Jake Weinbach wrote.
After all, Nembhard has recorded 23 assists in a single game during his career, showing that he can be a great distributor. Denver could have found some real gems if it can develop these players the right way.
Even with limited resources, the Nuggets are finding ways to make solid pickups. Nembhard could learn a lot from Jamal Murray when he joins the NBA squad or, at the very least, during training camp.
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