Since his introductory press conference 12 days ago, Thomas Welsh has undergone a crash course in Denver living. He’s watched the Rockies host the Marlins at Coors Field, gone through the Nuggets’ grueling workout at Red Rocks Amphitheater at an elevation of 6,400 feet and experienced nearly two weeks straight of 80- and 90-degree weather.
Welsh, a 7-foot center who the Nuggets selected 58th overall, can get used to that lifestyle, at least for the remainder of the summer. The Nuggets plan to sign Welsh to a two-way contract for the upcoming season, a league source confirmed to BSN Denver. Last year, two-way contracts allowed players 45 days to spend with their NBA club. The rest were spent in the G League.
“It’s basketball,” Welsh said. “No matter where it’s at.”
Welsh figures to be the Nuggets’ starting center at Summer League and a key contributor, which begins Friday in Las Vegas. He played in 132 games (94 starts) over his four-year career as a Bruin. Welsh left UCLA as the school’s third all-time leading rebounder and appeared in three NCAA tournaments. That experience is helping him adapt quickly to the NBA game through just a few training camp practices.
“The ultimate best teammate so far,” said Summer League coach Jordi Fernandez of Welsh. “Four years in college, knows everything, he seems older even though the NBA is new to him. He understands everything. He talks to everybody. He’s here on time. He does his work. He seems like an NBA vet.”
Welsh comes into the NBA with one elite skill: shooting. After attempting just one three-pointer during his first three college seasons, the 22-year-old sunk 45 of his 112 attempts (40.2 percent) from distance last year. From closer range, he was even better. Welsh shot around 46 percent last season from mid-range per The Stepien, an outstanding mark for a big man.
More space on the floor to operate and fire off jumpers at the next level — something Welsh noted this week at training camp as the most noticeable difference between college and his short stint with the Nuggets — should cater to his skill set.
“The key is much more open, the three-point line being wider just creates a lot more lanes for driving angles,” said Welsh. “It just makes it that much more difficult to help and get back on the defensive end as well.”
Fernandez is instilling a similar game plan and style of play at Summer League to what the Nuggets do on a nightly basis. No, they don’t have a Nikola Jokic to run their offense through, but Fernandez plans to use his “three playmaking bigs,” as he’s called them — Welsh, Petr Cornelie and Kennedy Meeks — in a similar way at times to how Denver utilizes Jokic.
It’s a different role than Welsh had at UCLA, where he made a living knocking down 15-footers. But he’ll need to adapt and advance his game on (on defense too) to stick at the next level.
“With this type of system I’ll be focusing on being able to catch and make different reads, whether it’s going for a (dribble-hand-off) or pitching to a ball screener or trying to clear off the dribble for myself,” Welsh said. “Just being able to try and facilitate more on offense.”
Welsh, an honor roll student and college graduate with an economics degree, said he might want to be a financial advisor for athletes when his playing days are over. Those plans were put on hold when Denver selected him in the second round last month.
“I’m going to do my best to space the floor on offense, knock down shots, put a lot of pressure on the rim offensively and defensively and just rebound the ball and set good screens for my guys,” Welsh said about his role at Summer League. “Just try to do the little things to help our team be successful in Vegas.”
