DECEMBER 22: Mudiay’s 10-day deal is now official, the Kings announced in a press release.
DECEMBER 21: Veteran point guard Emmanuel Mudiay is set to ink a new 10-day contract with the Kings via hardship exception, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Mudiay was drafted with the seventh overall pick by the Nuggets in 2015 after playing for the CBA’s Guangdong Southern Tigers. He was named to the All-Rookie Second Team in 2016, but struggled to find a consistent place on the Denver roster as the club’s fortunes improved with the development of All-Star center Nikola Jokic and elite shooting guard Jamal Murray. Mudiay, still just 25, has also played for the Knicks and Jazz.
The 6’3″ guard holds career averages of 11.0 PPG, 3.8 APG and 2.9 RPG across 300 games, 165 of them starts. He boasts a career NBA shooting line of .401/.323/.759.
The five-year NBA vet’s last stint in the league came with the Jazz during the 2019/20 season. Mudiay most recently suited up for Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas this year, but split with the team last month.
Woj adds that the team expects Mudiay to be available as soon as Wednesday against the Clippers for a very short-handed Sacramento team.
Per our health and safety protocols tracker, the Kings have seven players in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols as of this writing: star point guard De’Aaron Fox, intriguing rookie guard Davion Mitchell, wings Terence Davis and Louis King, and big men Marvin Bagley III, Alex Len and Neemias Queta. The team is also without 67-year-old interim head coach Alvin Gentry, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Assistant coach Doug Christie has coached the team in Gentry’s stead.
I reloaded HoopsRumors knowing there would be another hardship exception report lol there was
Nice opportunity for Mudiay. If there’s a silver lining to all this covid stuff it’s the opportunity all these players are getting, like Thomas, Stephenson, and now Mudiay, and all the young guys. I never understood why Mudiay was out of the league in the first place.
None of them can shoot.
Who cares about shooting anyway?!?
Just one small part of the game, it ain’t everything!
Having said that IT can shoot it pretty well, in his day better than most, but keep telling yourself whatever suits your narrative, right?
All of them shoot below league average from 3. As role players, teams are looking for guys that can hit open shots, they can’t. IT can score, but he’s not a pure shooter. And he can’t play defense. It’s not a false narrative. There’s a reason why some guys stick around forever, because they can shoot. And there’s a reason why some guys end up overseas and in the G League.
BASKETball
Oh yes, IT sure was lighting it up last night against Phoenix…
E Mudiay is a player I would have bet, to make it. Like Stephenson he was a big PG. One who always got his way on offense. Until they faced NBA talent on a daily basis. Only 25, he still has a chance. Those stats aren’t that bad.
Small correction: Mudiay’s career splits are .401 and .323. I think you made a mistake and wrote his splits in his last NBA season. :)
I only checked because as a Nuggets fan I know how putrid his shot making was. I’ve followed his career, hoping he would eventually improve enough offensively and as a distributor to stick in the league.
Drafting him made sense at the time but was a big swing and a miss.
Good catch, that’s been fixed, thanks.