New York Knicks: NBA trade deadline winners and losers

Loser: Emmanuel Mudiay

Two months ago, Emmanuel Mudiay was the early winner of the New York Knicks season. He rose from third-string point guard to jump Ntilikina and Trey Burke in the rotation, taking off with some of his best shooting performances in four years and showcasing top-end passing skills.

However, Mudiay regressed on his outside shooting, and defense was always an issue with a career-low 116 defensive rating. Playing distributor on a 10-43 team doesn’t help his case, either, to remain past 2018-19.

Dennis Smith Jr. is a Knick, however, as of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. He’s 21 years old and under contract for two more seasons, which obviously exceeds Mudiay’s two months before hitting restricted free agency.

Against Mudiay’s favor, he’s rehabbing a left shoulder injury that occurred before Smith’s arrival. However much time he misses, that allows the sophomore guard to step up and lock down the job, and he already had 25 points, five rebounds and six assists in one game.

How Fizdale sorts this when everyone’s healthy remains to be seen, but Smith is the upside play. The Knicks know what they have in Mudiay at this point. He’ll play, but probably not as much as the first three-plus months of the season, and that’s a problem entering the open market.