Denver might look to add a wing on draft night.
The Denver Nuggets are coming off one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory, and desperately need to hit a home run with this pick. And they very well might. Before talking about the pick, let’s look at the rocky road the Nuggets have ahead of them.
Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried have been involved in plenty of trade rumors of late, and there’s a decent chance Lawson is shipped elsewhere this summer. The Mavericks are a team that come to mind. They need a point guard after the Rajon Rondo experiment was a failure and Mark Cuban has never been afraid to make a big move and shake things up. Further they could lose Monta Ellis in free agency. However, Faried’s contract and lack of offensive skills makes him an unattractive acquisition, and it is more likely Denver is stuck with him through 2018-19.
Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, J.J. Hickson, Randy Foye and Jameer Nelson are all on the books through 2015-16. Gallinari slowly worked his way back into a nice flow this past season after missing 18 months recovering from a torn ACL, but beyond him none of these vets are highly likely to be kept beyond their current contracts.
Then there’s last year’s lottery picks, Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris. Nurkic showed serious potential at center in his rookie season despite struggling to return to form following ankle issues late in the year. Harris had a rough year but, like Nurkic, is still just 20 years old.
The Nuggets would have to be thrilled to land Justice Winslow or Mario Hezonja with the no. 7 pick if either were to slip to them. Stanley Johnson could certainly factor in here as well. This team is destined to return to the lottery again in the summer of 2016 given how many talented teams there are out West. But landing a wing player with two-way potential is exactly what the doctor ordered in Denver.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
