The Denver Nuggets waived Julian Reese after acquiring him in a five-team sign-and-trade, a swift roster turn that put the rookie center back on the market almost as soon as his name changed hands. The move also sent Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Reese, the younger brother of Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese, became worth watching because the rebound numbers travel fast. He averaged 11.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in his rookie season, started 10 of his 13 games and produced four double-doubles in his first 10 appearances. In Washington, he grabbed 4.2 offensive rebounds in 30.9 minutes across 13 appearances, a rate that translated to 4.9 per 36 minutes and a 14.4% offensive rebounding mark.
That production explains why he keeps surfacing in conversations about young bigs. Reese finished second in Maryland program history with 1,015 total rebounds after averaging 2.7 boards per game over four years there, then carried that work rate into the NBA and G League with 2.9 offensive rebounds in 19.1 minutes across his combined G League season. He also had headline moments that were hard to ignore: 18 points and 20 rebounds against Utah in his third NBA game, then 26 points and 17 rebounds on 12-of-16 shooting in Washington's 133-110 win over Utah, a result that snapped a 16-game losing streak and kept the team from a franchise-record 17th consecutive defeat.
Still, the reason he was waived is the same reason he is not a simple plug-and-play answer. Reese is being valued for his rebounding, but he is undersized for a full-time center, does not yet have a proven 3-point shot and must tighten up defensively before a team can trust him for steady minutes. That leaves his profile in a narrow lane: useful enough to draw interest, unfinished enough to be cut loose when a roster has to make room.
That is why the next move matters more than the waiver itself. The Knicks fit the part of the story that makes people look twice, since they lost Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti in free agency, signed Andre Drummond and still have two standard roster openings and all three two-way slots available. Hukporti's departure opened a lane for another young center in the pipeline, which is the kind of space Reese could occupy if a team wants rebounding and patience more than polish. For now, Denver has made him available. The open question is whether another team treats that as a claim on potential or as a reminder that the rest of the package is still a work in progress.
