In his first press conference as a member of the Utah Jazz, guard Emmanuel Mudiay admitted that he has work to do to improve on the defensive end of the floor and that he is ready to face some constructive criticism:
More from the Mudiay news conference … He said he knows he has work to do defensively, but that he’s receptive to criticism and expects to hear it from Quin if he’s not getting the job done. pic.twitter.com/5EnPn7uWHq
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) July 23, 2019
The Jazz signed Mudiay as a free agent this offseason in hopes that he could provide some quality back up minutes for Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell.
The Congolese guard is a four-year veteran who last played for the New York Knicks. Last season, he averaged a career-high 14.8 points a game, to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Mudiay has never been lauded for his defensive ability. When he was drafted in 2015 by the Denver Nuggets, they were expecting an explosive guard with a solid mid-range game who could put points on the board in a hurry. They knew that defensively, Mudiay could be lackadaisical and lose focus.
Mudiay never developed into the scorer that he was predicted to be, but he still has some scoring punch that could be very useful for the Jazz of the bench. If Conley can round Mudiay into a solid defender, the Jazz improves their case for the best defensive team in the league.
Mudiay can afford to make some mistakes early on with Rudy Gobert and Ed Davis behind him. Hopefully, he can improve and find a home in Utah for the first time in his career.
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