Emmanuel Mudiay went from the face of the franchise at the start of last season, to now acquiring no minutes in games. The plethora of depth that the Denver Nuggets have isn’t helping them or their future.
It is quite rare for a team to have the depth that this year’s Denver Nuggets do. All 15 players on the Nuggets’ roster is deserving of at least a few minutes a game, but the NBA doesn’t work like that. Michael Malone has limited his rotation to 10 players lately, leaving multiple players, who deserve minutes, on the bench. Those players include two rookies (Juancho Hernangomez and Malik Beasley), as well as Emmanuel Mudiay, a second year player. Up until the back injury of Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur is yet another player who didn’t receive minutes at all.
This might seem like a good problem to have, which in some cases, it is. The Nuggets are in a different situation though. Three players who could end up being a big part of Denver’s future are not playing at all. Most young players struggle, as proven by those three, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be playing at all. Experience is one of the best ways for a player to grow and to improve on their game.
Michael Malone turned to Jameer Nelson to become the starting PG after Mudiay had returned from injury, but relying on a 35 year old to lead a team isn’t much of an improvement over a 20 year old who had been the PG for the past year and a half. The change of plans shows that the Nuggets are determined to make the playoffs, but have also contradicted something they said just before the NBA Trade Deadline.
"“We are not going to mortgage our future in order just to be an eighth seed. It doesn’t make sense.” -Michael Malone"
Although Coach Malone was talking about making a trade just to make the playoffs this season, it is ironic he is benching a 20 year-old in favor of a 35 year-old to make a playoff push. It might not seem like a big deal, but it seems like the franchise and Malone are giving up on Mudiay a little too early. Many players struggle in their first few seasons.