Mar 18, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Emmanuel Mudiay of Prime Prep Academy poses for a portrait. He is a finalist for the USA Today Player of the Year Award. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
3. Emmanuel Mudiay
Mudiay’s scouting report is limited due to the fact that he went to China instead of playing in college. All we can use is his stats, and what others are saying about him.
There is no doubt that Mudiay’s jumper would be sub-par on the NBA level but it is not as bad as people say it is. Mudiay shot a respectable 32.4% from deep in China which is a solid starting point for improvement. However, Mudiay did shoot 58.5% from the free throw line. It is safe to say that Mudiay’s jump shot won’t be consistent until a few years into the league.
Mudiay does attack the basket with great speed and tenacity, much like Russell Westbrook and John Wall. Mudiay might be the best athlete in draft, meaning that his ceiling is VERY high.
But, the problem is that some players never develop a jump shot that GM’s hope for. There is no way to analyze Mudiay’s work ethic which will be the most important part of his development. There is always the possibility that Mudiay could fail to put the necessary work in to become a knock-down shooter which is the reason why he is only three on this list.
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Although Jordan Clarkson is showing great potential at the point guard position, drafting Mudiay would likely slide Clarkson over to the two spot, making Mudiay the primary pick and roll ball handler. A pick and roll between two below average shooters can be easy to defend. The guard can simply go under the screen and the big man guarding Randle could just sit in the paint and let Randle come to him.
The NBA has become a league of outside shooting. Building around two players who are below average shooters may hold the team back from becoming a championship team again. The more floor spacers a team has, the better. Just look at the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks. They are doing pretty well this year. Take a look at the Memphis Grizzlies last year, a great team that could not be considered a true contender because of their outside shooting woes.
Although, Randle and Mudiay would not necessarily be a “bad” pair, Towns or Russell would be much better.
Next: D'Angelo Russell