Over the course of this week we previewed tonight’s NBA Draft here at DNVR. In case you missed it, we looked at the top guards available tonight along with the top wings and big men.
But let’s get more specific. In this roundtable, Harrison, Adam and Brendan run down their top-5 realistic fits for the Nuggets if they stay at No. 26, potential trade up targets and discuss if Denver should look into trading out of the first round entirely.
*Tune into the DNVR Nuggets Draft Day Live show starting at 5:30 pm MT streaming on the DNVR YouTube page. If you’re local, stop by the DNVR Bar on the Corner of Colfax and York for our draft night watch party and listen to the DNVR Nuggets crew live throughout the night.*
Who are you top-5 realistic fits for the Nuggets who could be available at No. 26 overall.
Wind: Ayo Dosunmu, Quentin Grimes, Deuce McBride, Jaden Springer, Bones Hyland
I didn’t think I’d wind up here, but I’m a Dosunmu guy. I love the pace he plays with, how shifty he is with the ball, and the scoring and playmaking load he was able to carry for Illinois last season. He’s also a legit 6-5 with a 6-10 wingspan and should be a good NBA defender at either guard spot. With how Dosunmu’s career pans out, you might not hit a home run, but you’re probably going to hit a single or double. That’s fine at No. 26 overall. If Denver does want to try for a four-bagger, I’m fine with it and you should have that trust in Tim Connelly too. Jaden Springer is just 18-years-old and would be a solid pick. Bones Hyland is another guy I’d love too with high upside.
Mares: Jaden Springer, Quentin Grimes, Josh Primo, Josh Christopher, and Deuce McBride.
Springer feels like the most likely but any five of those guys should give Nuggets fans a reason to be optimistic about a pipeline of talent behind the established rotation pieces already on the roster.
Vogt: Jaden Springer, Deuce McBride, Quentin Grimes, Jared Butler, Joel Ayayi (trade back option)
Springer is very young with upside, so he keeps the asset train rolling, but he’s closer to a low-end rotation player already than some of the options we’ve discussed at 26. He lacks premier athleticism, and if he learns how to create for himself, it will happen over a longer timeline. Still, in the meantime, he’s got some of the things that are harder to teach — IQ, effort, and defensive prowess. That is the makeup of a winning basketball player, whether he blossoms into a starter or not.
If the Nuggets trade up, is there a player that they should target?
Wind: Usman Garuba would be a dream. He’s just 19 and you can already see how good of a defender and playmaker he could eventually develop into. Trey Murphy is also the type of wing that would fit seamlessly into a Nikola Jokic-led offense. He’s a knockdown shooter and a smart cutter who would feast off of easy baskets.
Mares: Trey Murphy, Moses Moody, and Davion Mitchell all come to mind. All three players look like 3 and D prospects that might just fit alongside the team’s established “big 4” of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic.
Vogt: At what cost? Not if it requires Monte Morris. Mitchell would be an exciting pick, but the size is concerning, and the prospect of trading up for him isn’t as enticing to me. Just about any team could use the three and D candidates that Adam outlined above, although Moody would require a pretty sizable leap in the draft, which doesn’t seem viable.
Should the Nuggets consider trading the pick for an established player? If so, for who?
Wind: I’m curious to see what San Antonio does in this draft. Are either Dejounte Murray or Derrick White available? Probably? You’d have to do some salary cap gymnastics to land either one but that would seem like a move similar to the Jerami Grant for a first round pick deal that Denver made in 2019. Both would fit well — Dejounte Murray probably a little better — at the two long-term next to Jamal Murray. A move like this doesn’t seem all that likely though.
Mares: Everyone already knows my answer to this. It’s Lonzo Ball. Ball is a free agent so it would have to be some form of sign and trade. And even though the odds of this happening are almost non-existent, I am going to promote this opinion one last time until Lonzo signs a long-term deal with some other team and the dream is officially dead.
Vogt: This would be easier to sort if we knew Will Barton’s fate. As it stands, keeping the pick makes sense to me. There are several quality candidates to crack an NBA rotation in the late first. I’m also in less of a rush to shake things up than others. Denver fielded a title contender last year, full-stop. I’m still in favor of running it back if possible, the Murray complications notwithstanding.
