Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz apparently still see some potential in Emmanuel Mudiay.
Mudiay was once the No. 2 recruit in the nation, he was once the No. 7 pick in the 2015 draft, now, he's a developmental project.
Mudiay hasn’t lived up his potential. But there have been some flashes — he scored 14.8 points on 44 percent shooting with the New York Knick last season — and the Jazz are hoping he still has some things left to show.
On Tuesday, Utah agreed to a one-year minimum deal with Mudiay, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent guard Emmanuel Mudiay has agreed to a one-year deal with the Utah Jazz, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2019
Mudiay might have been a highly-sought after recruit and a lottery pick four years ago, but there’s a reason he’s taken a minimum. But there is a very little risk in this deal. Mudiay doesn't project to have a major role this coming season. He'll be a combo guard off the bench and with the Jazz growing deeper and deeper with each new signing, there might not be many minutes left for him.
But there are worse options to have at the end of the bench. And he might show he's worth playing more.
After the All-Star break last season, Mudiay averaged 15 points on 36.4% 3-point shooting (on 3.9 attempts per game). If those type of numbers can hold up (Mudiay is just a 32% career 3-point shooter), the Jazz could have found a strong scoring punch off the bench.
Mudiay has been turnover prone throughout his career, but he's a big point guard, standing at 6-foot-5 that can score inside and can defend a little. His turnovers have dropped as his career has gone on, too — he had the lowest turnover rate of his career last year.
So Mudaiy's career is trending up. And he’s still just 23 years old. Which means he's got plenty of development left.
There is talent there and he's now joining a Jazz team that prides itself on their developing players. He'll also have a pretty good point guard Mike Conley to help mentor him — something he really hasn't had in his career.
But there's a reason Mudiay was available for the minimum. Last season, he proved he deserved a place on an NBA roster. Can Mudiay show he's worth more than that?
All in all, it’s a low-risk, potentially very-high reward signing that gives the Jazz some needed depth on the guard line.
With today's reported deals, the Jazz now have 12 players signed for next season.
