Nuggets hoping a franchise cornerstone brings luck to NBA Draft Lottery

Jamal Murray will likely represent the Nuggets at the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery May 15 in Chicago, a league source told BSN Denver. Travel arrangements will be finalized in the coming days but current plans do call for Murray to be at the podium when the Nuggets learn their lottery fate in two weeks.

Former head coach Brian Shaw represented the Nuggets at the lottery in 2014. President and governor Josh Kroenke sat at the podium in 2015. Current Nuggets coach Michael Malone represented the team in 2016 while Denver sent Gary Harris last year.

Murray, 21, appeared in 81 games (80 starts) for the Nuggets in his second season. He averaged 16.7 points (45.1 FG%, 37.8 3P%), 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

The Nuggets are hoping Murray brings the luck that their recent representatives haven’t to the lottery. The Nuggets have been in the lottery 13 times and have never moved up but have moved down on seven different occasions. The last time the team’s position changed as a result of the lottery was in 2003 when the Nuggets moved from the second to third pick and ultimately selected Carmelo Anthony.

University of Arizona center Deandre Ayton and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic are considered by most draft experts to be the consensus top two selections with the draft, which will be held June 21 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., still over seven weeks away.

ESPN has the Nuggets selecting University of Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV in its latest mock draft at 14th overall. Walker, 19, is a 6-foot-4, 206-pound guard who’s known for his shooting, length and defense. Walker averaged 11.5 points on 41.5 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 percent from three in his freshman season for the Hurricanes.

“Walker didn’t have a consistent or efficient freshman season, but his talent, combined with the lack of depth at his position, is keeping his name in the top-20 conversation,” said ESPN NBA Draft Analyst Jonathan Givony. “His youth, strong frame, 6-foot-10½ wingspan and ability to shoot with his feet set or off the dribble make him a candidate to rise during the pre-draft process as teams search for upside and diamonds in the rough.”