Fansided

5 players who would like a do-over on the 2016-17 NBA season

By John Buhler

Nov 6, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi (18) during their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Kings beat the Raptors 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi (18) during their game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Kings beat the Raptors 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016-17 NBA season has been a solid one, but not for every one. Here are five players that would like a mulligan for whatever happened on the hardwood to them this year.

The 2016-17 NBA regular season is about in the books. While the regular season doesn’t officially end until Wednesday, Apr. 12, there are a few guys across the league that want their season to end now. The narrative on their 2016-17 campaign has been written and it is not a good read.

Whether it was injuries, going to a bad team, or a drastic drop-off in production, these five NBA players would want a mulligan on this past season. Some of these guys might actually play in May this year, but it won’t be because of their overall level of play.

Here are five NBA players that would want a do-over on this past NBA regular season.

Jan 21, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 123-98. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 123-98. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
5

Emmanuel Mudiay

Point Guard, Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay could have really benefited from playing one year of college basketball for the SMU Mustangs. His inability to be academically eligible to play at SMU was highly publicized. Instead, Mudiay played as a teenager in China for money instead of getting yelled at by cranky Larry Brown for free in Dallas for a year.

Flash forward two years and Mudiay has been benched in Michael Malone’s point guard rotation. Denver general manager Tim Connelly drafted Mudiay seventh overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. With Denver in the midst of a playoff push, it’s not a good look to see a former lottery pick be benched down the stretch in his second season.

Mudiay’s benching began on January 22nd against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not only is he no longer playing starter’s minutes, but he rarely plays in back-to-back games now. Malone is making it a point to roll with 35-year-old Jameer Nelson at starting point guard the rest of the way. Age isn’t the issue, here it is simply a move based on production.

Nelson is shooting well above 40 percent from the field, while Mudiay can’t get to 40 percent in his second year in the league. Add in Mudiay’s inability to distribute the rock effectively and his inconsistent nature to playing defense and this move to Nelson was obvious.

Mudiay’s stagnation in year two is very troublesome. Keep in mind that Connelly picked him over guys like Myles Turner (11th), Devin Booker (13th) and Sam Dekker (18th). If Denver ends up missing the Western Conference Playoffs to the division rival Portland Trail Blazers, it will because of two things: 1.) The wrong side of the Jusuf Nurkic/Mason Plumlee trade 2.) Mudiay’s blatant lack of development at starting point guard.

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