Projected first round pick Keita Bates-Diop could see himself in a Nuggets jersey

Keita Bates-Diop’s arms seem to go on forever. They nearly reach his knees is he’s standing still with them tucked to his sides. When he’s out on the court, those long limbs help him disrupt opponents from distances that seem difficult to comprehend.

“He actually deflected a ball that I didn’t think he could get today,” said Colorado’s George King, who participated in the Denver Nuggets predraft workout Monday alongside Bates-Diop. “He blocked someone’s shot, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s that 7-foot-3 wingspan right there.'”

Bates-Diop’s length still caught King by surprise even though it was the second time they’ve worked out together. And King is right: Bates-Diop’s condor wingspan really is 7-foot-3. Bates-Diop used it to fill up box scores last season at Ohio State on his way to winning the Big 10 Player of the Year Award and leading a Buckeyes team everyone was writing off to the Round of 32.

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. He had one season of college eligibility remaining but given his age and the accolades he earned, he felt the time was right to move on. Most mock drafts project him as a late first-round pick. The Nuggets, who need depth on the wing, own the 14th pick heading into the NBA Draft, which is on June 21.

“I’ve gotten good feedback,” Bates-Diop said about his slate of pre-draft workouts. “I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary. I just show what I can do.”

What he can do is score the basketball. In January Bates-Diop went for 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting in an upset win over top-ranked Michigan State. That game was indicative of where Bates-Diop likes to operate: from the in-between zones. More than 40 percent of Bates-Diop’s field-goal attempts last season were jumpers he took from inside the three-point arc, according to Hoop-Math. Bates-Diop knocked those shots down at a healthy 44.2 percent rate.

“Obviously, he’s a tough shot maker,” King said. “He made some tough shots today.”

The biggest questions draft analysts have about Bates-Diop relate to his athleticism. His 35-inch vertical isn’t terrible, but it puts him well behind high flyers like Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Okogie, who both were credited with 42-inch verticals at the NBA Draft Combine last month. The current NBA landscape isn’t very welcoming to forwards with average athleticism who specialize in scoring tough mid-range buckets.

To Bates-Diop’s credit, he said he knows he has to get stronger and added that he would relish the opportunity to play in a free-flowing offense like Denver’s.

“That was one of the first things coach said. ‘We like to move the ball,”‘ Bates-Diop said. “Iso, that’s not my type of game either. I’d fit well in that system.”

Nunn also a tough bucket getter; questions about his character persist

Bates-Diop and Oakland guard Kendrick Nunn share the odd distinction of both having scored 32 points against Michigan State last season. Nunn did it in December, about a month before Bates-Diop accomplished the feat. Nunn’s 32 came in a losing effort, but it was still an impressive showing from the 6-foot-3 combo guard.

Nunn, who scored 30 points or more an NCAA-most 11 times in 2017-18, looks up to guards in the NBA who can light up the scoreboard.

“I like watching the two guards with the Blazers, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum,” said Nunn, who averaged 25.9 points per game “I like watching Terry Rozier pretty often. A lot of lefties. James Harden.”

Nunn’s scoring ability is impossible to deny. He’ll have a professional career somewhere. But if he hopes to make it in the NBA — he’s a long-shot right now — he’ll have to show he can defend as well.

Nunn will also have to answer questions about his character. He was dismissed from the University of Illinois in May 2016 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a domestic-battery arrest. Nunn was accused of hitting a woman, pushing her to the floor and pouring water on her.

Nunn told the Chicago Tribune he poured water on the woman but did not hit her. “My actions, I can’t blame anyone for,” he said, according to the Tribune. “Now, I would have just … walked away from it.”

Metu understands importance of versatility

The NBA Conference Finals seem to have made an imprint on everyone. The Warriors, Rockets and Celtics were all loaded with long, versatile players who could capably switch on the defensive end.

“I think the way the NBA is going now is being able to guard smaller guys,” said USC big man Chimezie Metu. “Being able to switch out there and be effective on the defensive end. And then on the offensive end being able to space the floor when I need to and going down on the low block and scoring.”

The 6-foot-11 Metu understands that big men are often asked to shadow water bug point guards and to step out and hit a jump shot at the NBA level. Metu, who is best known as a shot blocker, is trying to show during pre-draft workouts that he can do more than just dominate the real estate closest to the basket.

“I’m just super versatile,” Metu said. “When I was in college most of my work was done in the mid-post, low block. Now I can step out and shoot the three. I like to find open guys, make plays for other people. And defensively, I can affect the game in every aspect.”

Metu is projected to go anywhere from late in the first round to early in the second round.