Portland Trail Blazers backup point guard #5 – Emmanuel Mudiay
Emmanuel Mudiay of the Utah Jazz is another young combo guard who could be a low-cost investment for the Blazers. Mudiay has never quite lived up to his lottery pick billing but should be given another chance because of his age and physical tools.
Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2015, Mudiay’s shooting and finishing didn’t come on at the pace the Nuggets would have liked, so when Jamal Murray emerged, the Nuggets traded Mudiay to the Knicks. That was 2018/19, and Mudiay showed some improvement in his finishing and shooting with the Knicks. That was the same this season when he was signed on a one-year deal by the Jazz.
Mudiay is an athletic player who has good size at six-foot-three and 200 pounds.
He is great at getting to the rim and drawing fouls while he thrives in the open court and transition. At only 24, Mudiay could be given a chance on a playoff team to show that he still belongs in the league.
These five options aren’t star-caliber players, but a couple of them are still young enough that they could grow in Portland. Only offering the minimum limits who the Blazers can realistically bring in, but there are enough options here to get a difference-maker.