Emmanuel Mudiay Worth a Top-5 Pick in 2015 NBA Draft
One of the most enticing prospects for the 2015 NBA draft won’t play a minute in March Madness. He won’t grace the cover of any college media guides the rest of the year. He won’t even be a familiar name to casual basketball fans in the United States.
Despite all of that, Emmanuel Mudiay will be a top-five pick come draft day—and it will be well-deserved.
Mudiay was originally going to play at SMU, but he elected to go overseas to China and cash in on his talent. Danny Chau of Grantland noted Mudiay’s “story will forever be linked to the cautionary tales of Brandon Jennings’s struggle as a 19-year-old playing professional ball in Italy, or Jeremy Tyler’s travails in Israel and Japan after skipping his senior year of high school.”
However, Mudiay has the opportunity to blossom into an NBA star, and it will start on draft day.
The only way to deem whether Mudiay is truly worth a top-five pick is by comparing him to fellow top prospects. However, that is more difficult given the wide differences between how his year unfolded and those of the top college stars in the game.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com highlighted the disparities that underscore why Mudiay is so difficult to evaluate for NBA teams:
"Okafor, Towns and Russell are strolling along the tree-lined sidewalks of three of the best universities in the country. They're figuring out how to write papers, study for tests and how to balance the paradox of being celebrities and unpaid students.
Mudiay has been riding his bicycle to practice through the crowded streets of Guangdong, China, for the past five months. He doesn't speak the language. He lives with his mother. There are no classes, no Midnight Madness, no nightlife to speak of. He's making a ton of money but has nothing to really spend it on right now.
Okafor, Towns and Russell are being mentored by three Hall of Fame coaches with a long track record of getting their players drafted at the top of the lottery. Mudiay's head coach, Du Feng, is a former Chinese Olympian and pro basketball player who has never gotten anyone drafted.
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Ford also noted that Mudiay rarely saw the floor in China, although that was primarily due to an ankle injury. He hasn’t necessarily experienced the continuous game pressure that comes with a lengthy season that the other candidates for early draft picks have in college.
The presence of D’Angelo Russell also makes Mudiay’s case a bit more interesting since both are seen as potential NBA point guards. Russell is the known commodity that scouts, coaches and front offices can watch on their televisions every week and during the pressure-packed college games of March, while much of Mudiay’s evaluation will be based on potential.
Still, nothing says both cannot be top-five picks, and that is likely what will happen.
When a team uses a top-five draft pick on any player, it is looking for a franchise cornerstone with a high ceiling. Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and Russell all represent just that, but Mudiay can fulfill that potential as well. Once those three players are off the board, the rest of the draft will be wide open, and Mudiay is worth an early selection.
Interestingly, DraftExpress has the Los Angeles Lakers selecting Mudiay with the No. 4 pick.
The point guard position has arguably never been more important than it is in today’s NBA, and the Lakers don’t have a superstar there. That actually almost puts them in the minority.
Just look around the league. Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, Derrick Rose (when healthy), John Wall, Mike Conley, Tony Parker, Ty Lawson, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Rajon Rondo are all either current stars or have been in the past.
There is just an embarrassment of riches at the position, and a team without a reliable option there is bound to be burned on a nightly basis given the league’s current landscape.
Think of the point guard as the quarterback of the NBA and Mudiay and Russell as potential franchise guys for years to come.
Chau provides an in-depth scouting report and analysis for some of Mudiay’s biggest games overseas, but the skill set is quite discernible.
He is a physical, 6’5” presence who is not afraid to use his size in the lane. He also utilizes an explosive first step to get to the rim and is strong enough to finish through contact over the big men. Throw in a solid mid-range game and three-point stroke (that still needs to be improved), and Mudiay is a formidable offensive weapon.
He also brings impressive speed to the open floor that helps him get out in transition, where he then uses his size to finish or precise passing abilities to set up teammates.
The combination of length, athleticism and speed is more than enough to make him a potentially dominant defender as well. Those are all the traits an NBA guard needs on paper to dart in and out of passing lanes and harass opposing ball-handlers, and Mudiay should be able to do that from day one.
Larry Brown, who was supposed to be Mudiay’s college coach at SMU, certainly vouches for the point guard, via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com:
"You need a great point guard. First and foremost I think it starts with them defending the ball. Emmanuel's 6-5, he's long, he's athletic. I think he can keep the ball in front of him. He's a pass-first point guard. He's an extra rebounder. He's not a great shooter, but, in the NBA, you have so much time to work on your shot and improve your game, his shot's not broken. I think it'll get there. I think he has it all.
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There is also something to be said about the fact that Mudiay has already been a pro, albeit overseas.
Sure, playing professionally in China may not be the equivalent of lacing it up against the aforementioned star point guards in the NBA on a nightly basis, but he has dealt with money issues, fame and every other pressure that comes with being a professional athlete. The college prospects cannot say the same.
Ultimately, this is about his overwhelming skill set, even if he is raw and hasn’t played in nearly as many games as some of the other contenders for top-five-pick status in the draft. The ceiling is there for Mudiay to become a potential superstar at the next level.
Now it’s just a matter of figuring out which team is willing to take the chance on his talent.
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