Denver Nuggets Draft Christian Braun And Peyton Watson In First Round, Punting On Win-Now Moves

By the point the mud settled for the Denver Nuggets on Thursday’s NBA draft night time, the crew had acquired 4 new rookies, most of them developmental tasks, with out making any trades geared toward upgrading the roster within the quick time period to spice up their title rivalry possibilities.

It was the primary draft helmed by newly-elevated basic supervisor Calvin Sales space, following the latest departure of longtime lead government Tim Connelly. And the strikes the Nuggets made raised as many questions as they answered relating to how Sales space’s philosophical and strategic strategy to roster-building would possibly differ from his predecessor’s, and whether or not proprietor Stan Kroenke is keen to green-light the extent of monetary funding which is able to doubtless be essential to assemble a professional contender round back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets initially had one first-round decide, quantity 21, main as much as draft night time. However as mentioned in my earlier piece for Forbes, in his first transfer at Denver’s helm, Sales space had elevated the Nuggets’ flexibility and vary of choices by including a further first-round decide in a commerce of JaMychal Inexperienced and a protected 2027 first-round draft decide to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder for decide 30 on this yr’s draft, two future second-rounders, and an $8.2 million traded participant exception.

Given the necessity for Denver to prioritize a “win-now” mode of roster constructing whereas Jokic is in his prime (Sales space himself stated he and the Nuggets group are the “stewards” of Joker’s peak years), it was broadly speculated, together with by me, that the crew would virtually actually solely use one in all their two first-rounders to draft a rookie, and bundle the opposite with both Will Barton III or Monte Morris – each of whom having been reportedly made out there by Denver for commerce – to make a extra fast roster improve.

As a substitute, in a stunning and counterintuitive sequence of draft night time decisions, the Nuggets acquired 4 new rookies, drafting three – Christian Braun (21), Peyton Watson (30) and Ismael Kamagate (46) – and signing a further undrafted participant, Collin Gillespie, to a two-way contract.

And whereas that constellation of draft decisions shouldn’t mirror negatively on the gamers themselves who had been chosen by Denver, who’ve each risk of proving themselves worthy alternatives, it did result in a response of disappointment from a reasonably vital phase of the Nuggets Nation fanbase, the place hopes had been excessive that Denver would, for instance, bundle decide 30 with Monte Morris, or 21 with Will Barton, to commerce for targets similar to Washington’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Memphis’ De’Anthony Melton, or Portland’s Josh Hart to be able to make an immediate improve – particularly defensively – on the beginning taking pictures guard spot (the Nuggets’ biggest place of want) to be able to fortify Denver’s core of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, and within the course of meaningfully increase their title odds.

In equity to Sales space and his new tenure atop the Nuggets’ entrance workplace, the 2022 NBA offseason has simply begun. The free company interval doesn’t start till June 30, and months stay for extra strikes to be made previous to the start of subsequent season, which Denver needs to be coming into into with a fully-healthy roster, together with a Murray and Porter each rehabilitated from damage, for the primary time in latest reminiscence. And unquestionably, the Nuggets nonetheless have many strikes to be made, not the least of which is able to contain how you can strategy their very own free brokers.

Denver will face some difficult choices round their restricted free brokers Davon Reed (extremely prone to be re-signed), Vlatko Cancar, Facundo Campazzo and Markus Howard, and unrestricted free brokers Austin Rivers (one other possible re-sign), Bryn Forbes and DeMarcus Cousins. Who amongst these gamers Sales space and his entrance workplace employees prioritize in alternately holding or selecting to let go could, the truth is, be extra revelatory of his designs on Denver’s roster development than draft night time was.

However whereas there may be nonetheless loads of time to make the Nuggets’ draft strikes make extra sense, Sales space did undermine to a big diploma the flexibleness he created with the Inexperienced commerce by locking up each of Denver’s first-round picks with draft alternatives.

And whereas there may be arguably a legitimate protection for that call on condition that the commerce worth of this yr’s draft picks particularly could have been overvalued by followers relative to how their perceived value by groups across the league (decide 30 in a “weak” draft not being seen as a lot of a deal-sweetener), objectively the Nuggets’ cupboard of commerce belongings has been largely depleted.

As I wrote post-draft on Twitter, this ramps up the pressure on Sales space and his entrance workplace to do what’s now a tougher job of discovering extra fast roster upgrades.

If there may be any constant throughline to Denver’s draft night time strikes, it’s doubling, then tripling down on bolstering the crew’s protection, albeit extra sooner or later than upcoming seasons, with the doable exception of their first choice.

With their very own first-round decide at 21, Denver selected six-foot-seven defensive wing Christian Braun (pronounced “brown”), who’s projected to grow to be a starting-caliber three-and-D participant who figures to be a becoming complementary piece to offensive juggernaut of the Nuggets’ core. (Following the deadline commerce for Aaron Gordon within the 2020-21 season, the Nuggets had a blistering 127.2 offensive score with Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon on the court docket, per Cleansing the Glass).

Braun is by far probably the most NBA-ready amongst Denver’s new rookies, and whereas Sales space acknowledged that he should “earn” his minutes, it appears the Nuggets are able to put him within the rotation if he reveals his mettle. A feisty, tenacious defender (suppose Facu however 9 inches taller), Braun has the potential to make Denver’s draft night time look extra proper if he’s given minutes and proves he could make a direct impression on that finish of the court docket.

The collection of Peyton Watson with the thirtieth decide was a much bigger shock. Sales space stated post-draft that each he and Braun would doubtless spend time within the developmental G League with the Nuggets’ affiliate crew the Grand Rapids Gold, however it’s a protected wager that Braun will likely be given extra alternatives with the foremost league squad whereas Watson will likely be extra of a challenge. At six-foot-eight with a wingspan of over seven ft, Watson has the upside of being an elite defender within the NBA, however his offensive recreation is sorely missing, and averaged a lowly 3.3 factors per recreation in school, which reportedly is the bottom scoring common of a first-round decide in NBA historical past. And whereas Watson’s ninetieth percentile end result simply is perhaps making the NBA’s All-Protection crew, he undoubtedly doesn’t look like a participant who may contribute to the Nuggets’ postseason success as early as 2023, when they need to be within the combine for combating for the championship.

The identical holds true for forty sixth choice Ismael Kamagate, with the decide acquired through commerce from Portland, or Collin Gillespie, signed by Denver to a two-way contract as an undrafted rookie. Kamagate, a six-foot-eleven huge man from France with a seven-foot-three wingspan, will likely be a draft-and-stash for Denver, remaining for now together with his present crew, Paris Basketball, the place he final season gained the NLB Professional A Greatest Defender award.

Collin Gillespie, Denver’s solely acquisition who just isn’t primarily identified for his protection, is a two-time Large East Co-Participant of the 12 months (2021, 2022) with Villanova, a knockdown shooter and a really succesful level guard within the pick-and-roll. As an undrafted two-way participant, the probabilities he could or could not get to play with the primary squad will largely be decided by Sales space’s strikes in free company. If Rivers, Campazzo and Howard had been all to be retained, Gillespie could not see a lot daylight exterior of the G League, but when the depth chart above him thins out by the start of the 2022-23 common season, he may get some spot possibilities.

Even so, crucial headline of the 2022 Denver Nuggets draft – on condition that two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is within the prime of his profession, on condition that his co-stars Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. will likely be returning and will likely be ostensibly wholesome, and on condition that, not like in earlier NBA eras the place one or two groups had been superlatively dominant, the championship window is as broad now because it ever is prone to be for the Nuggets – is that even when Denver’s draft alternatives this week show to be nice decisions, they usually all ship within the optimum vary of their respective upsides, Sales space and his entrance workplace employees have but to make the mandatory enhancements to the roster to raise them right into a extra professional championship contender tier.

With now-depleted belongings in one of many Nuggets’ most important offseasons in franchise historical past, the stress is on Sales space and his crew to ship strikes that may improve Denver’s title possibilities within the fast future. And the diploma to which they’re ready to do this can have a defining impression on the legacy of this new incarnation of Denver’s entrance workplace.