Emmanuel Mudiay headlines 3-team trade involving Nuggets, Knicks, Mavs, per report

Emmanuel Mudiay will headline a three-team deal between the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nuggets will receive Devin Harris and a future New York second-round pick, while Dallas will acquire Doug McDermott and Denver’s second-rounder. Mudiay is going to the Knicks.

Denver had been looking to trade Mudiay for veteran guard depth to help their playoff push, where they currently sit tied for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. New York, likewise, had made it clear that McDermott was an expendable piece.

Mudiay is averaging career lows in points (8.5) and minutes played (17.9) this season. While the 21-year-old is averaging a career-best 37.3 percent on three-pointers, he ranks dead last among 99 point guards who have enough minutes to qualify for ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus, a stat that tracks a player’s estimated on-court impact. While Denver spent a lottery pick on Mudiay in the 2015 NBA draft, they clearly felt he wasn’t going to be successful in a Nuggets uniform.

Harris is a quality backup guard and an expiring contract. He’s a 34-year-old who doesn’t mess up and can play on or off the ball, making him an ideal fit in the Denver backcourt. He’s not an elite shooter, but his 35 percent three-point shooting this season is more reliable than it has been in the past. Denver was looking for something reliable, and Harris is exactly that.

Mudiay is still very young, but it made sense for Denver to move on. He has shown little progress in three years, and he is now buried behind several young guards that are now making up the team’s future — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Will Barton.

This is a mistake if it buries Frank Ntilikina any further down the depth chart, point blank. However, Mudiay is a 6’5 guard who can play off the ball, especially since he’s shooting a career high. Ntilikina is also 6’5, and those two can coexist in the same backcourt, and probably even in a three-guard lineup with Tim Hardaway Jr. Mudiay is a project, but he’s a cheap one that New York barely gave up anything to take a flier on.

Harris was expendable for Dallas, who has young guards and isn’t making the playoffs. McDermott isn’t a star and probably doesn’t even have starter-level potential, but he’s a great shooter who could develop into a reliable rotation player. The Mavericks have lacked shooting and wing depth all year, and picking up McDermott for next to nothing is a harmless move that could have extremely positive dividends.