Nuggets set to host 6 players Friday for pre-draft workout

With the lottery earlier this week and teams hosting prospects for individual and group workouts over the next month, draft season has officially arrived.

The Nuggets will have their first pre-draft workout Friday morning when the team hosts five different NBA hopefulls.

Josh Scott, Anthony “Cat” Barber, Isaiah Cousins, Nikola Jovanovic, Alec Peters and Pascal Siakam will all be in Denver Friday to run through a slew of drills and speak with Nuggets executives and coaches.

Scott, 22, who some Nuggets fans may be familiar with from his four-year career at the University of Colorado, averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds last year with the Buffs. A 6-foot-10 big man who scored over 1,700 points throughout his college career, currently projects by many as a second-round or undrafted prospect.

Barber, was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer and a first-team all-ACC selection. Standing at 6-foot-2, He averaged 23.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the North Carolina St. Wolfpack last year and shot a respectable 36.2 percent from three. Barber, 22, is a projected second-round pick and could fill a role as a backup or third point guard at the NBA level.

Cousins, another four-year player, averaged 12.6 points and 4.5 assists last season for the Oklahoma Sooners. He’s 6-foot-4, shot 41.1 percent from three and served as a stabilizing presence in Oklahoma’s backcourt last year. Cousins is projected to go in the second round or undrafted next month.

Jovanovic, a 6-foot-11 stretch four from the University of Southern California is an intriguing prospect who shot 53.8 percent from 3-point range during his junior season and averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He’s keeping his name in the draft as of now, but could return to school as he has one year of eligibility remaining.

Peters and Siakam are less knows to the casual fan. Peters is a 6-foot-9 four-man from Valparaiso who can step out and shoot the three. He averaged 18.4 points and 8.5 rebounds during his junior season and shot 44.0 percent from deep. Siakam, just a Sophmore, averaged 20.3 points and 11.6 rebounds last season for the New Mexico St. Aggies. A native of Cameroon, Siakam flew under the radar of scouts for most of the season but is moving up draft boards as of late. Currently, he projects as a second-round pick.

In years past, prospects would have had to declare for the draft or head back to school before working out with teams, but the NCAA approved a provision earlier this year that pushed the early-entry date back to 10 days after the NBA Draft combine takes place.

Prospects now are able to attend the combine and go through one team workout before the May 25 deadline to declare passes.