Emmanuel Mudiay knew it was coming. He braced himself for it. He prepared mentally. He thought about what needed to be done physically. He vowed to be a great teammate.
It was still difficult to take.
In many ways, he has revived his career with the Utah Jazz. He was relegated to signing a minimum contract with Utah, startling for someone of his youth and talent. But he’s had a terrific season. He bought into the Jazz system, balancing his ability to freelance with running a complex offense for the first time in his NBA career. He was playing well. But he knew that with Mike Conley coming back from a strained hamstring, his days in Utah’s rotation were numbered.
Advertisement
“It was hard,” Mudiay said Monday night. “But Coach Q (Quin Snyder) had a conversation with me. That helped. He’s been talking to me the whole time, and that’s made a big difference.”
The conversations have ranged from not much to substantial. But the message has been clear. The Jazz needed to take Mudiay out of the rotation. But that didn’t mean they didn’t need him. Mudiay was told to stay ready. He was told to keep doing his work between games, to prepare himself to play even when he knew he wasn’t going to play.
On Monday night, with Conley sitting out the second half of a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks, Mudiay made what is now a rare appearance and made the most of an isolated opportunity. He played 14 minutes off the bench and scored 12 points. He grabbed three rebounds, had a pair of assists and made five of his eight shots. When the Mavericks were threatening to erase a 21-point Jazz lead in the middle of the third quarter, it was Mudiay and Jordan Clarkson who closed the door. When the Mavericks made another run in the fourth quarter, Mudiay came up with a gargantuan 3-point play to give the Jazz breathing room.
It’s one thing to know you aren’t playing. It’s another to come off the bench with little time to prepare, come back into the rotation and produce like you’ve never left that rotation. That’s what Mudiay accomplished Monday night. And in the process, he went a long way toward helping the Jazz win one of their more important regular-season games of the year.
“Emmanuel, man, he’s been great,” Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said. “He’s continuously ready, not only on the offensive end but defensively as well. He’s grown so much since he’s been here. It’s pretty cool to see him go through this progression.”
Mudiay had every right to be disappointed about being taken out of the rotation. That’s a measure of how well he’s been playing. At the same time, when Conley returned to the lineup, and Conley has played very well since his return, Mudiay was the obvious candidate to come out of the rotation. The main reason? Mitchell has emerged as a guy who needs point guard minutes. And Mitchell playing point guard wasn’t the clear plan when Mudiay signed this summer. As a result, Conley’s and Mitchell’s minutes are staggered so the two get sufficient time running the team. Clarkson has emerged as the main offensive creator off the bench and as one of the better sixth men in the league. Also, Joe Ingles is a main playmaker. He needs his touches as well.
Advertisement
So, it was nothing against Mudiay. It was a case of a guy being squeezed by a crowded perimeter. He was simply the odd man out. Mudiay took the news and dealt with it. He went through his individual work each day as if he were a starter. He became a big supporter on the bench. He worked off the floor as hard as ever. Through it all, he kept a smile. Any disappointment he felt, he kept internal. The talks with Snyder, they helped. NBA players, they want to be kept in the loop. They want to feel respected. And the Jazz have respected Mudiay throughout the process.
And the front office, it sent a message that he was valued. Utah probably could have traded Mudiay at the deadline last week if it tried hard enough. And it would have been an enticing thing to do. But what the Jazz realized is they have a third point guard who they deem very talented, and they prioritized keeping him in case they run into injury issues in the interim or at some point down the road.
“What Emmanuel did tonight is difficult,” said Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, who spoke to the media Monday night because Snyder lost his voice. “What has helped him is that he’s been great on the bench. He’s been involved, supporting his teammates. In a big game like this, I can’t say enough about him coming in and just being ready to play like he hasn’t missed a step. That’s really hard to do.”
Through all of the gifts his teammates possess, Mudiay offers the Jazz something unique to any other player on the roster. His ability to push the ball in transition and finish at the rim give Utah the ability to score easy buckets, and that helped his teammates, most of whom were playing with tired legs in the second half.
And mentally, Mudiay recounted past experience to get through the past few weeks. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets but traded to the New York Knicks. He averaged almost 15 points per game last season for the Knicks, but the free-agent market wasn’t fruitful for him. Instead of hunting a contract in a less-than-ideal situation, Mudiay’s agent, BJ Armstrong, contacted Jazz general manager Justin Zanik. Armstrong wanted Mudiay to sign with the Jazz for the minimum, and he wanted the Jazz to develop him, instill good habits into his game.
Advertisement
Through February, Mudiay is a lot more judicious on when to attack the basket and when to lay back and run the offense. He’s defending better than he ever has in his NBA career. He’s putting himself in a position to take advantage of his 6-foot-5 frame and his athleticism. He’s shooting the ball better from range than he ever has.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Mudiay said. “So, I knew I could get through this. I’ve just wanted to come in and help the team and support my teammates in any way that I could.”
There’s a good chance Mudiay won’t be back with the Jazz next season. Because he signed a one-year deal, the Jazz don’t have his Bird rights, which means they can’t go over the salary cap to re-sign him. As a result, even a hypothetical $5 million offer means the Jazz probably won’t be able to retain him.
But what he’s done is rehabilitated his game and made a lot of friends in places where people make basketball decisions. And he’s proved he can handle adversity, on and off the floor.
(Photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
