Emmanuel Mudiay is officially in the Denver Nuggets’ driving seat. He was taken with the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft even though they had Ty Lawson on the roster. However, this is no longer the case as Lawson was dealt last night to the Houston Rockets. Mudiay now has complete control of the Nuggets and he must be feeling ecstatic.
One of the teams that had a shot of landing the talented point guard was the New York Knicks. With the Knicks comes Phil Jackson and his triangle offense. The triangle offense is built primarily for players who can space the floor and knock down open jumpers, something which Mudiay really struggles with. Plenty of players thrive in that role, but many also falter even if they’re stars such as Gary Payton. Knowing that he wouldn’t be a good fit in New York, Mudiay was relieved he wouldn’t have to play in a system that doesn’t fit his play style. Following from Marc Berman of the New York Post:
Nuggets rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay told confidants after the draft he was, in retrospect, happy the Knicks passed on him at No. 4, as he was unsure he would have been a good fit for the triangle. Despite public comments to the contrary that he felt team president Phil Jackson could “make me a star,’’ Mudiay said he felt he was a better match in a more freewheeling Denver offense, according to sources.
Obviously this isn’t the most surprising statement from the guard, as it is completely accurate. Mudiay would not have survived in the triangle offense. Not only did Mudiay know that but clearly so did Phil Jackson as he went with Kristaps Porzingis instead. It looks like the draft worked out well for both sides in the draft however as Mudiay and Porzingis are both putting up fantastic numbers in the systems of their respective teams.
