The Denver Nuggets have been busy making late offseason two-way additions, like Cam Whitmore, and they've made another good one. This time, they secured more backup point guard depth with a big-upside in second-year pro, Ryan Nembhard. With Nembhard's addition and KJ Simpson's subtraction, the Nuggets may have the best two-way players in the NBA. They've certainly got the best two-way bench they've had in years.
Nembhard joins Whitmore and second-round pick Bryce Hopkins on two-way contracts, giving the Nuggets two strong, athletic wings and a point guard who's a legitimate playmaker. Nembhard caught Nikola Jokic's eye when he torched the Nuggets on December 1st as a member of the Dallas Mavericks for 28 points and 10 assists.
Nembhard went on to set the NBA season high for assists in a game last year with 23 in the season finale against the Chicago Bulls, which helped him to a final assist average of 5.3 per game, leading all rookies. He'll be a more-than-capable backup point guard who has shown he can run an NBA offense.
The Nuggets' two-way players have a ton of potential
The Nuggets made athleticism a priority upgrade this year, and they started the process with Hopkins with the 49th pick in this year's draft. Hopkins is already proving his worth in training camp by bringing his energy to help pressure the ball carriers on the first and second units so they can work on ball-handling, which was a major theme for head coach David Adelman during the team's media day this week.
The Nuggets were then patient and waited nearly the whole summer out before they were able to bring in Whitmore, the former 20th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. Whitmore's crazy athletic, and he'll be a bright spot getting downhill and creating his own buckets when he gets floor time. He's also a strong slasher who's a constant lob threat when he gets into the paint area. It was a no-brainer move for the Nuggets to bring him in to give him a chance to develop on a two-way contract, and their environment is the perfect place for that to happen.
And finally, Nembhard. Despite his small, 5-foot-11 frame, he's a quick playmaker who looks to make the pass first. But he's also a more-than-capable shooter, too, averaging 35.6% from beyond the arc last year in 60 games, 27 of them starts.
It's not every day a team scores a first-rounder with the skill set of Whitmore to put in a two-way slot, and the backs it up by securing a player who can run the show at point guard. Nembhard's addition definitely just upgraded the Nuggets' bench even further, and they're definitely the best two-way trio the team has had in years.
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