The NBA Summer League opening night show in Las Vegas was billed as Cooper Flagg vs. Bronny James.
But the littlest guy on the floor made his case for belonging on the stage, too.
Ryan Nembhard, the undrafted free agent signee out of Gonzaga, didn't take long to show he deserves a spot with the Dallas Mavericks.
The summer and rest of the offseason are long. Nothing is guaranteed.
But the younger brother of Pacers two-way star Andrew, this Nembhard plays under control, has a smooth pull-up jumper, makes the right pass and is a pest defensively. All those things work just fine in the NBA, too.
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The Mavs needed a positive point guard development this summer, aside from just letting Flagg run the 1. Kyrie Irving is out for the first half of the season, at least, as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Nembhard looks like he can step up to whatever extent is needed.
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Dallas signed D'Angelo Russell to be the interim starting point guard, so there won't be too much pressure placed on Nembhard from the start.
But he already looks like he might be ready to handle it.
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