Ryan Nembhard has cleared waivers and agreed a two-way contract with the Nuggets, a league source told The Denver Post on Wednesday, and the resulting roster casualty will be a CU fan favorite.
Denver will waive KJ Simpson to make room for Nembhard in a required subsequent move, the source said. Teams can sign up to three players at a time using two-way contracts, which allow for the players to be assigned back and forth between the NBA and G League without their salaries counting against the cap.
Denver’s other two-way spots are currently occupied by Bryce Hopkins, the team’s second-round draft pick this year, and Cam Whitmore, who has averaged 10.5 points per game across three NBA seasons.
That leaves Simpson as the odd man out, which The Post previously reported Mwould be the case if Nembhard cleared waivers. Simpson, 24, appeared in six games for Denver last season after signing a two-way deal in February. A March Madness hero once upon a time for CU, he was excited by the full-circle opportunity to join the Nuggets because he had attended their championship parade as a fan in 2023.
The timing of his release is somewhat awkward. Denver is holding its training camp in Boulder this week, with a preseason game withe Jazz to be played at CU on Sunday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was too early to tell whether Simpson will stay with the Nuggets’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, or seek a new opportunity elsewhere.
Nembhard, 23, is viewed as an upgrade over Simpson to Denver’s point guard depth. He played 60 games as a rookie for Dallas last season — more than Simpson has played in the first two years of his NBA career combined — and torched the Nuggets last December with a 28-point, 10-assist performance. The younger brother of Pacers starter Andrew Nembhard, he shot 41.5% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range. He also registered an impressive 3.72 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Nembhard was traded from Dallas to Charlotte last week and subsequently waived by the Hornets.
The 5-foot-11 guard played his college ball at Creighton and Gonzaga. As a sophomore in 2023, he scored 30 points in an NCAA Tournament win at Ball Arena, leading Creighton to the Sweet 16.
