Precious Achiuwa would give the Nuggets something they've never had at power forward

The Nuggets currently hold the No. 22 pick in the NBA Draft. Over the next month, the DNVR Nuggets crew will examine who Denver may pick with that selection. Make sure to mark your calendar for Wednesday, November 18, the night of the draft and DNVR Nuggets Draft Day LIVE streaming on Periscope and YouTube.”

Who is Precious Achiuwa?

It’s been one of the more popular parlour games that’s been played when discussing the Nuggets’ present and future in the Nikola Jokic era: what kind of power forward does Denver need to place next to its franchise cornerstone in order to maximize its long-term outlook. I’ve played it. You’ve played it. The Nuggets’ front office has burned the midnight oil playing it.

Kenneth Faried played most of the minutes alongside Jokic during the 2016-17 season. That summer, Denver brought in Paul Millsap to be Jokic’s frontcourt partner. Although Jerami Grant started most of the 2020 playoffs at the three, the baton felt like it was passed between him and Paul Millsap at the power forward position last season. If Grant and the Nuggets agree to a new contract this summer, which feels like the expectation amid an uncertain offseason, he’ll likely be Denver’s starting four-man next year.

What makes Precious Achiuwa such a tantalizing prospect, particularly for the Nuggets, is that he has shades of all three power forwards who have occupied the spot on the court next to Jokic over the last several seasons in his game. But he also projects to do something at the NBA level that Faried didn’t during his time in Denver and isn’t Millsap or Grant’s forte either.

Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound big man, averaged roughly 16 points, 11 rebounds, one rebound and two blocks per game during his freshman season at the University of Memphis. He’s a former five-star and top-20 recruit who talent evaluators know well. Achiuwa was primarily a soccer player growing up in Nigeria but started focusing on basketball when he moved to the United States in eighth grade. He played two seasons of high school basketball at prep powerhouse St. Benedict’s in New Jersey and then his senior season at another blue chip school, Montverde Academy.

Teams have scouted Achiuwa for years. Denver should have especially good intel on him considering former Nuggets wing Mike Miller was an assistant coach at Memphis last season under Penny Hardaway where Achiuwa played. Currently, most mock drafts peg the 21-year-old as a late-lottery to mid-first round pick.

Strengths

• High defensive upside: Achiuwa is an athletic defender who can develop into a strong rim protector. He’s quick for his size and has a 7-2 wingspan. He’s fared well on some occasions when switching out onto smaller guards.
• Achiuwa should be a really good roll man at the next level because of his athleticism going to the rim. He’s also much better than you’d think at putting the ball on the floor. He has a good handle for his size and has shown the ability to use his quickness to beat his man off the bounce.
• Strong motor and energy on the offensive and defensive glass. Has been a grab-and-go guy at times and should be an absolute freight train running the lanes in transition.

Weaknesses

• He’s raw as expected for someone who only played one year in college, and while he projects to be a strong roller and defender he needs seasoning. Needs to get better at team defense, rotations, making reads when catching the ball as a roller, etc.
• Shooting is a concern: Achiuwa shot 60% from the free-throw line last season and 32.5% from three. His touch doesn’t look spectacular from in close either. On his threes he showed potential though. While his mechanics need a little bit of work his shot is fairly smooth.
• Shot selection was also a bit iffy in college. He took too many dribble pull-ups and shots off the move. He’s going to get his offense exclusively off catch-and-shoot threes, rolls to the rim and on the offensive glass initially at the next level.

NBA Comparison: Montrezl Harrell

How does Achiuwa fit with the Nuggets?

Offense

Achiuwa would have a very defined role in Denver as the fourth or fifth option on whatever lineup he’d be playing with. He could be a Faried-esque roller for Jamal Murray and Monte Morris/PJ Dozier on Denver’s second unit, and someone who could occupy the dunker spot eventually next to Jokic or another stretch big.

Achiuwa would also give Denver a high-energy rebounder who’s not afraid to get physical and chisel out space on the offensive and defensive glass. He has some shake to his game and a much better handle for his size than you’d think. I don’t think he’s a dinosaur either. His shot was up and down but I’m buying him to eventually be a passable shooter at the NBA level.

Defense