The Denver Nuggets have officially brought back Markus Howard on a two-way contract according to the team’s official release. Howard will be entering his second season in the league and with the Nuggets.
The 22-year-old played 37 games for the Nuggets this past season, averaging 2.8 points. While it wasn’t much of a sample size, it’s understandable since he’s a two-way player. His contract means he’ll likely be splitting time between Denver and the Grand Rapids Gold next season.
Despite sitting at the end of the bench, Jamal Murray’s injury forced Michael Malone to look for other options at the guard spot and Howard played nine games in the 2021 playoffs.
In nine playoff games, the former Marquette scorer averaged 4.7 points a night while hitting 42 percent of his 2.9 shots from behind the arc. Again, small sample size, but promising nonetheless.
Markus is a shoot-first point guard who is always on the hunt for his own shot. In his final college season, he averaged 27.8 points a night while tallying 3.3 assists.
At 5’10”, he has to work extremely hard to create efficient shots. He has proven the ability to do that in garbage time this past season with various smooth dribbles.
Small guards have succeeded in the NBA plenty of times before and with Howard’s level of shot making, it’s not hard to believe he might be a solid contributor at the NBA level.
Denver Nuggets: Will Markus Howard break into the rotation?
This past season, minutes were hard to come by for Howard. Not only does head coach Michael Malone not play rookies all that much, Denver had title aspirations, meaning he’d be leaning on the most established players on the roster.
While Murray’s injury helps Markus’ chances at getting serious minutes next season, the offseason addition of Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland (plus his excellent play in Summer League), the re-signing of Will Barton, and established point guard depth means the two-way player has a few hurdles ahead of him.
If Howard does break into the rotation, it’ll likely be because of injuries. Rookies don’t usually play well but with a first-round pick invested in Bones, the front office will want to see developmental minutes for him (gifted or earned).
Monte Morris will likely be the starting point guard on opening night but if not, it’s to start Facundo Campazzo and have Monte run the second unit, as he does so well.
Denver Nuggets: What’s the best-case scenario for Markus Howard?
As mentioned before, fans have seen plenty of diminutive guards succeed in the modern NBA. The best part of Howard’s game is his scoring which is a great sign. If he can score at an above-average level, there won’t be as many defensive concerns for a player his size – he can just help outscore them.
That might be Howard’s best-case scenario in the future, but for specifically next season, it’d take some serious injuries to get Markus some rotation minutes.
While he got an extended run in the 2021 playoffs, that was without Murray or P.J. Dozier, two players that will be ahead of him in the rotation when healthy.
If there are minutes for the two-way guy and he really pops on offense, it’d be a great piece to add to Michael Malone’s arsenal. Hopefully, Bones Hyland can become the scoring threat off the bench, but if he isn’t ready for next season, Howard could try and play that role.
Without Jamal, the team needs an off-the-dribble scorer who can get the defense in foul trouble and make them re-think their strategy. At the moment, Monte focuses on getting his teammates involved and Campazzo excels on the defensive end, it’ll be up to Bones and Markus to bring PG scoring.
It might be too big an ask to get Howard some true rotation minutes, but he’ll be an exciting watch in garbage time when the game is well and truly in the books. Every time he’s dribbling, Nuggets fans should be watching the defender’s ankles, just in case.