The Emmanuel Mudiay era started with a bang but ended in a whimper

My first day on the Nuggets’ beat was June 25, 2015 — draft night.

As the Denver Nuggets selected Emmanuel Mudiay seventh overall, former Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson surfaced in an online video smoking hookah and predicted he’d be traded to Sacramento to reunite with former coach George Karl. The stunt proved to be the last straw for a Nuggets organization that had just watched Lawson receive two DUIs in less than six months. Denver shipped Lawson to Houston 25 days later.

Mudiay, at the ripe age of 19, became the face of the Nuggets’ franchise. He came to Denver with a full-fledged marketing campaign behind him that branded the point guard as the chosen one to lead the franchise into “A New Day” — a slogan which was plastered throughout the city, arena and printed on every piece of literature the organization handed out that season.

Expectations were high — probably too high — but Mudiay took them in stride. In the midst of an up-and-down rookie season where Denver finished 16 games under .500, Mudiay was front and center to speak with the media after every game win or loss. He was the face of the organization and was treated like one.

His first regular-season game in a Nuggets’ uniform was a stunner. Mudiay finished with 17 points, five rebounds and nine assists. The Nuggets upset James Harden and the Rockets in Houston 105-85, and Mudiay look liked the player to lead the Nuggets into a new era.

That night was the high point of Mudiay’s run in Denver.

Mudiay went on to average 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists but 3.2 turnovers per game his rookie season. He started 66 out of the 68 games he played that year. The shooting percentages were dreadful, and the turnovers and poor decision making were alarming. But Mudiay was extremely raw and had played just a few games in China after high school.

Spirits were still high.

His sophomore season wasn’t as cheery. Mudiay started 41 of Denver’s first 42 games but eventually lost his starting spot in late January to veteran Jameer Nelson. The Nuggets went on to win 23 of their last 31 games with Nelson manning the point and nearly took the eighth seed in the West with Mudiay largely out of the rotation.

Even after two seasons that concluded with Mudiay trending downwards, the Nuggets never wanted to give up on ‘E’ — even when they shipped him to New York on Thursday afternoon in a three-team deal in exchange for Dallas Maverick’ point guard Devin Harris.

The Nuggets held a publicized point guard competition in September between Mudiay, Nelson and Jamal Murray. An injury limited Nelson to just three preseason games, and the Nuggets cut ties with the veteran before the regular-season opener. Denver handed Mudiay the keys to its second unit hoping a renewed confidence with Nelson out of the fold would elevate his game.

Mudiay showed some signs of growth to start the year. In October, he averaged 11.6 points on just 38.3 percent shooting but hit 47.4 percent of his three-point attempts. Yet, he hadn’t improved in the areas where the Nuggets needed him to. Teammates were visibly frustrated with his play when they shared the floor with him and Mudiay’s numbers spiraled downward from November on until an ankle injury forced him out of Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s rotation altogether.

The soft-spoken point guard’s tenure in Denver was rough on Malone too. Despite the ups-and-downs, Malone stayed loyal to Mudiay for as long as he could. Mudiay was drafted by the Nuggets in the same offseason that Denver hired Malone — a bond that the two also shared. Last summer, the pair went to Africa to take part in the NBA’s Africa Game, and there was some momentum building towards the end of the offseason that Mudiay could have a future with the Nuggets even if it was behind an emerging Murray.

When Mudiay got healthy in late December and was ready to return to the court, Malone kept him on the bench with his slimmed down rotation hitting on all cylinders — a tell that Mudiay’s time in Denver was nearing its end. An encouraging two week stretch in late-January and early February wasn’t enough to convince Nuggets’ management that they could head into a stretch run with Mudiay playing 15-20 minutes a night.

A Thursday afternoon phone call between Dallas, New York and Denver and a trade call with the league later in the afternoon made the transaction official. Just like that, Mudiay’s run in Denver was over. A few minutes after the news broke, Mudiay returned to the same Pepsi Center hardwood where he had just practiced 30 minutes prior and said his final goodbyes to trainers and coaches.

It was hard not to feel sympathy for Mudiay along the way. He came into the league with a mountain of expectations and a skill-set that needed refinement. He was an improbable story too. Someone who defied the odds and fled the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo at just 5 years old and spoke no English when he came to the States.

Mudiay was the second-ranked recruit in his high school class and had plans to go to Southern Methodist University and play under legendary coach Larry Brown. He opted to bypass SMU and play in China. You wonder if the first three years of his career would have looked any different had he been around Brown for even just six months. Mudiay deserves credit, though. He worked on his craft enough to get to the NBA and make millions of dollars.

Malone and the organization were in his corner until the very end. Mudiay can still develop into an adequate role player. He could even be a starter if the right situation presented itself, but Mudiay will have to change. His refusal to talk to the media won’t fly in New York, and Mudiay will have to grow some thick skin with the scrutiny he’ll undoubtedly face no matter how he plays.

You can argue Denver sold low on Mudiay. After all, he’s a former No. 7 pick with a rare combination of size, strength and vision. But the Nuggets couldn’t afford to lose out on a playoff spot by a game or two for the second consecutive season. Not with Paul Millsap in the fold, who Denver’s paying $30 million for this year. Not with Jokic, Murray and Gary Harris ascending. Not with a five-year playoff drought on the line.

The Nuggets needed to upgrade their backup point guard and had to give up on someone who was still young and talented but was clearly not an integral piece to the puzzle moving forward.

Mudiay might never be the franchise savior he was pegged as when he arrived in Denver three years ago. He might never get back on those billboards or appear on the front page of media guides.

However, with all he’s been through and the path he’s taken from humble beginnings to the NBA, it’s hard to see Mudiay’s story ending here.