2015 NBA Draft results: Emmanuel Mudiay picked by Denver Nuggets
The 2015 draft’s most itinerant prospect will be traveling some of his latest miles vertically.
Emmanuel Mudiay is off the board in the 2015 NBA Draft after being selected by the Denver Nuggets with the No. 7 overall pick Thursday night. Mudiay bypassed college to play overseas in China, becoming the first American player to avoid college and still be drafted in the lottery since Brandon Jennings in 2009.
Mudiay, 19, originally signed to play with Larry Brown at SMU before backing out to play professionally overseas. One of the top guards in his high school class, Mudiay ended up making over $1 million playing in China during his age-18 season instead of spending it playing for a scholarship in the U.S.
There's always uncertainty over how a player, especially a teenager, will adjust to life in another country, but Mudiay's time in China proved encouraging. While an ankle injury forced him out for significant time during the season -- and led to his team signing former NBA veteran Will Bynum -- the general reaction from the draft community on Mudiay's time in China has largely been positive.
"There are very few 18-year-olds on the planet who are equipped to handle a situation like this, and all things considered, he certainly did not disappoint," Draft Express wrote in early March.
Mudiay had been projected as one of the draft’s top prospects, but his lack of elite shooting touch and status as a combo guard probably contributed to his relatively low selection. In Denver, he’ll become one of the cornerstones of a franchise in flux, which fell from a playoff team in 2014 to a lottery squad in 2015.
Nate Timmons of Denver Stiffs, SB Nation’s Nuggets blog, sounds excited about the addition of Mudiay.
This is an incredible pickup for the Nuggets, and one that allows the team to add a top tier prospect to a roster with some interesting youngsters on it. Just imagine the defensive prowess of a Mudiay backcourt partnered with Gary Harris. You could put either guy on the the opposing team’s point guard, and both guys can help lead breaks ... Any way you slice it, this is an excellent pick up for the Denver Nuggets, and one that Nuggets Nation should be very excited about. Mudiay is a top tier point guard prospect, and he’s now a Denver Nugget.
If he can become a reliable point guard, Mudiay’s presence with the Nuggets could hasten the departure of Ty Lawson from the Rocky Mountain State.
Denver will keep Mudiay, per Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nuggets had been rumored to be involved in trade talks that could move Sacramento big man DeMarcus Cousins, with the No. 7 pick potentially included in a swap.
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