Report: Emmanuel Mudiay was relieved Knicks passed on him

Rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay was glad that he avoided being drafted by the New York Knicks.

Emmanuel Mudiay has been one of the standout players at NBA Summer League this year. The point guard who played in China last season rather than entering the college ranks was once regarded as one of the top three prospects in this year’s draft class. For one reason or another, he slipped slightly and ultimately fell to the seventh overall pick where the Denver Nuggets selected him.

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Immediately before and after the draft, there was talk that teams picking before the Nuggets should have nabbed him prior to him falling to seven. One team that often gets brought up in that regard is the New York Knicks, who took young big man Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick. We don’t know yet what Porzingis will develop into, but there are some who believe taking a point guard like Mudiay would have been the better option.

Apparently Mudiay is glad that wasn’t the way the Knicks were thinking on draft night. According to a report from the New York Post, Mudiay told people close to him that he was “relieved” that the Knicks passed on him in the draft. The crux of Mudiay’s reluctance to being picked by the Knicks was his lack of desire to be a part of the triangle as he was unsure he could succeed in that system.

Mudiay also reportedly told his inner circle that he thought that an offense in the mold of Denver would be a better fit. Considering what we’ve seen at Summer League to this point with how comfortable the rookie has looked running that type of offense and how he has struggled with his jumper a bit, his thoughts aren’t completely wrong.

It’s certainly easy to pile onto the Knicks for a top draft prospect being glad that they didn’t select him. Considering their place in the NBA right now, the jokes are low-hanging fruit. That being said, the Knicks passing on Mudiay so that he could fall to the Nuggets is what’s best for both parties involved. The Knicks can wait for a player who better fits in the triangle at point guard and Mudiay isn’t forced to play outside of his comfort zone. Even if the city of New York would rather have Mudiay than Porzingis, New York and Mudiay would have indeed been a mismatch from day one.

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