Utah Jazz: Jordan Clarkson will get paid, but Emmanuel Mudiay proved he belongs

Jordan Clarkson might’ve proven most valuable off the bench for the Utah Jazz, but Emmanuel Mudiay’s play made one thing clear — he’s a bonafide NBA talent.

This past year, only two days before Christmas, the Utah Jazz made what would prove to be one of their most impactful, mid-season moves in recent memory: the team acquired Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Dante Exum and a pair of second-round picks.

Though the season was unexpectedly upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, Clarkson’s brief time in Utah all but guaranteed him a respectable payday this upcoming offseason with some NBA franchise — fingers crossed it’s the Jazz. Seriously, off the bench, averaging a rock-solid 15.6 points per game in only 25.3 minutes will make you a hot commodity amongst NBA GMs.

The dude was a stud scorer off the bench — no doubt about it. But newsflash: Clarkson’s wasn’t the only strong, second-unit option for Quin Snyder — Emmanuel Mudiay got the job done, too.

Mudiay’s arrival in Utah was a puzzling one for both Jazz fans and analysts alike, though. His last season with the New York Knicks, he averaged 27.2 minutes per game, yet was a minus-2.0 on the year. In fact, up to that point, in his four-year career, that would prove to be his best plus-minus rating. For a numbers-driven front office, the Jazz’s move appeared deliberately off-brand.

Stats-wise, Mudiay’s numbers aren’t anything jaw-dropping: 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Fortunately, the 200 lbs guard out of Zaire has shown his on-court value. To date, in the 48 appearances he’s made for the Jazz, the team’s outscored their opponent 28 times.

He’s adaptable, as well.

Mudiay was originally brought in to merely eat garbage minutes while Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell and (at the time) Exum rested. Once Exum was moved for Clarkson, however, Mudiay’s role greatly changed — he needed to take on a more active role in the guard rotation. And he did, providing a more aggressive, fast-paced style of guard play than what Conley offers at the one.

Fittingly, Mudiay’s best performance of the regular season came during a Jazz blowout of the Knicks at home in early January. Come the final whistle, he’d turned in a 20-point performance, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point territory. And just for good measure, he added four dishes to the final box score, too — not bad for a “revenge game.”

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1215130790603788289

Has Mudiay’s play on a one-year, minimum contract made him a priority for Utah Jazz executives this summer? Heck-to-the-no. Rightfully so, the attention — as well as any spare change — will go to keeping Clarkson in the Salt Lake Valley. This season, what Mudiay has done, however, is prove that he legitimately belongs in the NBA — any other team would be lucky to have him.