top of page

2024 Free Agents - Andrew Nembhard

Summary
Nembhard was a successful four-year college player, particularly after transferring to Gonzaga for his Junior and Senior seasons. He was a high-level contributor on the Gonzaga team that made it to the national championship game in 2021 and was a 1-seed in 2022. He was selected 31st overall in 2022, and had a very good rookie season, even starting 63 games for the Pacers, which is unexpected for a 2nd round pick. He started another 47 games in '23-'24, and even had some massive scoring games in the playoffs.

Nembhard has great feel and craft as a ballhandler in pick-and-roll, which may be the most important skill in today's NBA for a guard. He finds the right angles to hit the roll man, and is able to read the backline defender to make skip passes to the weak side. He has struggled with turnovers more in the NBA than in college, and part of that is just getting use to the length and athleticism of NBA defenses. However, he has still posted a really nice assist rate.

He can create off the dribble a bit, getting separation at multiple levels, particularly in the midrange where he uses good footwork and body control to create space. He is a solid shooter, posting a decent 55%. He has only hit 35% from 3, and while he finishes well at the rim, he didn't get there very often. Part of that is a lack of athleticism, as Nembhard doesn't have a quick first step and isn't someone that can finish over or through defenders. 

That below-average athleticism can hurt him defensively too, as he can get beaten off the dribble by quicker guards. However, he has good size at 6'5" and overall works hard on defense. He is versatile and the Pacers have not been scared to give him challenging assignments. He competes to navigate screens, takes good angles, and will fight to get back into the play. Nembhard is smart and has good hands to get deflection. He knows how to rotate, and will draw charges.

Nembhard looks to be a legitimate starting-level player, and could be more than that with continued growth. He came into the league on the older side, as he will already be 24 years old as a potential free agent in 2024, but in reality he almost certainly won't hit free agency until 2025 at the earliest.
 
Cap Considerations
Nembhard's $2 million salary for 2024-2025 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the Pacers will have no form of Bird rights on him. If he is waived, teams could claim him off waivers, but would need to fit his salary within cap space or an exception to do so, as his contract doesn't fit within the minimum salary exception as it was a four-year contract.

If Nembhard becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. If Nembhard is waived and clears waivers, his value will likely have dropped low enough that he would only have offers for the minimum.

Potential Teams: Pacers, Wizards, Jazz, Suns, Timberwolves

Predicted Contract: Not waived: $2 million

Actual Contract: Not waived: $2 million

Nembhard was not waived, which was obvious, and he could sign an extension this season, or potentially hit restricted free agency in 2025.

Last updated: 7/14/2024

bottom of page