Nikola Jokic is the fulcrum of the Nuggets’ high-powered offense. When Denver is at its best, the ball is in the big Serbian’s hands as he makes decisions based on what the whirl of bodies looks like around him. That approach has paid off with two consecutive finishes as a top-six offense. It also helps explain why the Nuggets felt they could get by without a traditional point guard for much of the 2017-18 season.
Emmanuel Mudiay was supposed to be that player, but he turned out to be a dud in Denver. After trading him in February, the Nuggets were left with Jamal Murray, Will Barton and Devin Harris, three guards who excel at scoring more than setting others up. Murray is the only player of that trio under contract for next season. In the coming weeks, it’s possible Denver looks to find a traditional point guard who can play behind him and shoulder some of the playmaking load.
On Tuesday, the Nuggets worked out three of the top point guard prospects available in the June 21 draft — Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and France’s Elie Okobo. Brunson and Holiday are both three-year college players. Okobo plays professionally for Pau-Orthez of the Pro A League in France.
Brunson, the reigning Naismith College Player of the Year, is the most well-known name of that bunch. He helped lead Villanova to two titles in his three seasons on campus. He’s a smart, tough bulldog of a point guard who’s projected as a late first or early second-round pick. He could be on the Nuggets’ radar if they decide to trade back in the first round.
Brunson isn’t a surefire first-round pick because of his height (6-foot-2) and average athleticism. But what he lacks in measurables he makes up in intangibles.
“I’ve always had leadership qualities,” Brunson said. “I was raised by parents to never be a follower, always be a leader. So I try to implement that into basketball. I just try to be poised, try to stay calm and not really worry about pressure situations. Nothing really phases me.”
Holiday was a less accomplished college player than Brunson, but there’s a decent chance he hears his name called first at the draft. Holiday played alongside Lonzo Ball as a sophomore at UCLA before moving into more of a lead guard role last season. He shot the ball extremely well from beyond the three-point arc — going 42.9 percent on more than six attempts per game — and became the first Bruins’ player to average at least 20 points since Ed O’Bannon did it in 1994-95.
“Very poised players,” said TCU forward Kenrich Williams, who worked out alongside Brunson and Holliday. “Very mature. They know the game. You could tell they have a lot of experience.”
Then there’s Okobo, an under-the-radar prospect “who has the potential to become the best point guard in the draft,” according to The Ringer’s draft experts. The 20-year-old lefty is the 19th-best prospect on The Ringer’s latest big board. He’s a smooth scorer off the dribble, and though his pure point guard skills are still developing, he’s already shown some creativity as a passer.
Okobo, who cited James Harden, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as players he tries to pattern his game after, said he’s spoke to fellow Frenchmen Frank Ntilikina and Boris Diaw about life in the NBA. Okobo is viewed as a potential draft-and-stash option, but he said Tuesday his goal is to play in the NBA next season.
“I hope I’ll be drafted and move to the NBA for next season,” Okobo said. “That’s really my dream and my goal, so I hope it’s going to happen.”
The Nuggets have a strong history of hitting on European players. They took Balkan big men Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic in 2014. They also selected Juancho Hernangomez from Spain with the 15th overall pick in 2016.
“I really like it,” said Okobo when asked about the Nuggets’ European flavor. “There are a lot of good European players. I think they move the ball really well, and that’s what I like.”
