The Denver Nuggets made an interesting move when they added the high-octane Markus Howard to their roster.
Per the Denver Post’s Mike Singer, the Denver Nuggets signed undrafted guard Markus Howard — the NCAA’s leading scorer in 2019-20 — to a Two-Way Contract shortly after the 2020 NBA Draft.
At 5’11” and 21-years-old, Howard’s biggest red flags are his short stature and questions about how much more he can develop. Howard will be restricted to being a one-position player in the NBA but, more concerning, is how he may be targeted on switches defensively.
However, where Howard excels is the offensive end.
As he leaves Marquette — a school that’s produced players like Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade — after being a four-year starter, Howard’s path to the NBA has seen him rack up the accolades.
It started with Howard being named to the Big East All-Freshman team in 2016-17, after which he was named to the All-Big East team for three consecutive seasons. In that time, Howard would be named the Big East Player of the Year and a Wooden Award finalist in 2018-19 while being named as a Consensus All-American in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Last season, Howard averaged a career-high 27.8 points per game — his third consecutive season averaging at least 20 points per game — along with 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Still, his most impressive stat may be the 41.2% of 3-pointers he converted while taking 10.1 per game.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 31 | 27 | 22.0 | 4.4 | 8.7 | .506 | 2.6 | 4.8 | .547 | 1.8 | 2.0 | .889 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 13.2 |
| 2017-18 | 34 | 31 | 31.5 | 7.0 | 15.1 | .464 | 3.3 | 8.1 | .404 | 3.1 | 3.3 | .938 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 20.4 |
| 2018-19 | 34 | 34 | 33.5 | 7.4 | 17.6 | .420 | 3.5 | 8.8 | .403 | 6.7 | 7.5 | .890 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 25.0 |
| 2019-20 | 29 | 29 | 33.2 | 8.2 | 19.3 | .422 | 4.2 | 10.1 | .412 | 7.3 | 8.6 | .847 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 27.8 |
| Career | 128 | 121 | 30.1 | 6.8 | 15.2 | .444 | 3.4 | 7.9 | .427 | 4.7 | 5.3 | .882 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 21.6 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Not only is Howard capable of creating space with a tight handle, a great change of pace and a myriad of moves but he’s also a guard that won’t hesitate to take a shot from Oceania.
As he isn’t a top-end athlete and is a smaller player, his ability to consistently get all the way to the rim to score takes a hit.
Yet, Howard is cognizant of this, having developed a deadly stepback jumper to pour it on opposing teams. Watching him play, it’s impossible not to think of players like Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry and Kemba Walker. In fact, while Walker’s size at 6’0″ makes him the closest comparison to Howard physically, his range, confidence and willingness to take midrange jumpers is much more reminiscent of Lillard.
Other strengths of Howard’s game, offensively, include his feel for pick-and-rolls as well as moving without the ball.
A current low-end comparison for Howard could be Chris Clemons, a decorated player at Campbell University with great range and a shifty stepback who was an excellent scorer in college but undersized at 5’9.” Clemons signed a three-year contract with the Houston Rockets in 2019 despite going undrafted, playing 33 games for the Rockets last season.
With backup point guard Monte Morris becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and third-string point guard P.J. Dozier’s contract being non-guaranteed for 2020-21 and 2021-22, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Howard signing a standard contract next season, especially if he excels in the G League or in his games with the Nuggets.
However, another path to Howard being on the regular 15-man roster or in the rotation comes with Denver opting to move Jamal Murray back to shooting guard. This is a distinct possibility due to Murray’s performance when he was the off-guard during the NBA restart and the potential of first-round pick R.J. Hampton.
This season, players on a Two-Way Contract aren’t restricted to 45 days with their NBA team but 50 games.