Acquiring Emmanuel Mudiay at the deadline on Thursday was not a shot at Frank Ntilikina but part of a plan to acquire young talent, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. General manager Scott Perry said the addition of Mudiay, a former lottery pick, gives the Knicks another talented player, which can only help Ntilikina.
“The organization is not down on Frank,” Perry said. “I’ve spoken to Frank today. We’ll continue to speak. He’s excited about it. Everyone’s committed to getting better. If you want to become a good team, you got to be resigned to adding players to our mix that will help our cause. He’s going to be fine. It’s not in any way a negative reflection on him and who we think he’s going to be. He’s a 19-year-old kid with very good tools and a lot of upside. This will help his learning process.”
The plan for Mudiay is for him to see time at both guard spots. Jared Jeffries, an ex-Knick and former scouting director for the Nuggets, commended the acquisition of Mudiay, Berman writes in a separate story. Jeffries does not agree with the consensus that Mudiay is a bad shooter — instead, he feels the former seventh overall pick is a bad finisher. If he can improve his shots closer to the rim, Mudiay can be successful, per Jeffries.
Check out other news coming out of New York:
- Luke Kornet, who has spent the season in the G League, made his NBA debut against the Raptors on Friday, Berman writes. Taking the spot vacated by the departed Willy Hernangomez, Kornet became the second Knick ever to debut with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). The 22-year-old Vanderbilt project is currently on a two-way deal that allows him 45 days in the NBA before he must be added to the 15-man roster — and the Knicks have an open roster spot.
- A knee injury sidelined Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell for two months, putting some ice cold water on a hot start to his first season in Brooklyn. Since his return, Russell has come off the bench and hasn’t seen consistent playing time. Both Russell and head coach Kenny Atkinson want to see the former second overall pick play more minutes and get reacclimated, writes Newsday’s Greg Logan.
- While the Nets did make some moves ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, both DeMarre Carroll and Spencer Dinwiddie stayed put. Dinwiddie, who has burst on the scene as a productive asset this season, is so coveted by the Nets, the team turned down a first-round pick from the Cavaliers, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post details.
Mudiay and Frank can’t shoot. Not a great backcourt combo. Like pairing MCW and a clone of MCW.
If Mudiay is a talent, why did the Nuggets trade him for a bag of beans? He’s awful. With him and Ntilikina in the backcourt at the same time, perimeter defense won’t be necessary for the opposing team. I’d dare them to shoot all day long if I was the opposing team.
Scott Perry – keeping the Knicks tradition for the past 15 years intact.
That was strong, turning down the Cle#1 pick, when the Cavs were collapsing! Or dumb…
That offer (for Dinwiddie &maybe Carroll) must have preceded the Laker offer, since they still had their 1st, possibly Altman’s first offer of the day with all expirings available. Although, they also had future salary they wanted to send, do they could have offered that with the 1st. Anyway I’ll give Altman the benefit of the doubt and say we’re pretty much on the same page. I’m sure he will be thrilled to hear that!
you havnt watch dinwiddie play if you think it was dumb for the nets to reject the deal
I’ve been a fan. But he’s the third PG and they didn’t try to trade Lin or Russell, and they’re not with Lavert or Crabbe.