Denver, CO
Denver Nuggets Draft Preview: Kevin McCullar Jr.
For our next preview of potential first-round Denver Nuggets targets in the NBA Draft, we’ll check out Kansas forward Kevin McCullar Jr. If you’re looking for another Christian Braun type player then look no further than McCullar, who had two years at Kansas under coach Bill Self to turn himself into another iteration of a two-way wing that Self loves to have. Is Denver looking for one of those? Don’t the Nuggets have enough defensive guys who are iffy shooters? That definitely depends on what the trade situations and free agency look like for the Nuggets, and McCullar is one option for going back to the well that both GM Calvin Booth and Coach Michael Malone like to dip into.
Kevin McCullar Jr., Forward, Kansas
Vitals
Height (w/o shoes): 6 feet, 5.25 inches
Weight: 206 pounds
Wingspan: 6 feet, 9 inches
Age: 23 (03/15/2021)
McCullar comes in right between Christian Braun (6′ 5.5″ with a 6′ 6.5″ wingspan) and Peyton Watson (6′ 6.75″ with a 7′ 0.50″ wingspan) on the “rangy wing defender” spectrum. He’s got longer arms than Braun but not the pterodactyl wingspan that Watson possesses, while having a strong frame to defend the grown men he’ll see in the Association. He doesn’t have the extra muscle of a Wilson Chandler to see heavy duty at the 4, but as a 2/3 swingman more like Braun there’s a lot to like.
College Statistics
2023/2024 Season Stats
| MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | BPM |
| 34.2 | 18.3 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 45.4% | 33.3% | 80.5% | 7.4 |
Highlights
Strengths
Offensive Acumen
McCullar isn’t a sniper – that’s the one thing he’s still working on. But he’s a great cutter and slasher either down the paint or the baseline, and a good free throw shooter (81% this season) who was willing to take three pointers in the flow of the offense even if he wasn’t great at making them just yet (33% on 4.5 attempts per game). He can be a passing hub – his 4 assists a game this year were off of DHOs, pick-and-rolls, pocket passes, everything you would think a point guard would be doing. His ball-handling both in transition and in traffic is pretty advanced. He’s got the Andre Iguodala Starter Pack as far as offense, and while “spot-up shooter” is not his claim to fame yet, he’s got some time to work on it and a shooting stroke that shows he should improve to be a league-average capable shooter. He knows his strengths on offense involve going to the rack, though, and he is fearless about doing just that.
Defensive versatility
McCullar can legitimately defend multiple positions as a strong wing with fast feet and hands. He can crowd guards and take away their ability to turn the corner, or body up a forward to prevent an easy turn to the bucket. He has good hands for both steals and boards, and stays attached through screens. He was a Naismith DPOY semi-finalist two years running, and can make life very difficult for even very good opposing wings. If Dalton Knecht, almost certainly top-10 pick this year, is a no-doubt NBA-level player then the guy who made him look like a high schooler when they played this year should be too.
Improvement Areas
Injury concerns
McCullar wasn’t able to participate in the NBA combine for the same reason his season ended early: the bone bruise in his left knee. It’s the same injury that took a chunk of Julian Strawther’s season for the Nuggets. There has been a lot of talk about whether this means he’s soft because he missed the NCAA tournament, whether he’s a bad teammate – a lot of smoke that may be taking his draft stock down. Even more serious smoke got MPJ to fall to Denver, so if this gets McCullar out of the range of the bad teams and onto a squad that can use his playstyle, it may still work out in his favor (even while it costs him money in the short-term). This is a strange one for me because until this year I can’t remember anyone questioning his heart or integrity, and missing the combine in May should be extra weight on the side of serious injury rather than a lack of desire to gut it out. That said, any injury that takes you out for several months has to be a concern.
Deep Shooting
McCullar can handle scoring around the basket just fine. As a 23 year old who shot 30.1% from deep for his career, though, there are concerns about whether he’ll ever be league-average from behind the arc. His free throw percentage is perfectly reasonable at 75.6% for his career and 80.5% this year, and usually players with a decent free throw shot can be coached into gains from deep. To go back to the Wilson Chandler well, he shot 30.3% from deep in his two years at DePaul, while shooting 65.9% from the line. In the NBA, Ill Will shot 34.1% from 3 and 77% from the free throw line. Is 34% enough for McCuller to make an impact? League-average is around 36% right now – can he get to that? He showed this year for Kansas that he was willing to take the necessary threes for them to keep the floor spaced, and that’s all Denver would be asking him to do – that, and make open ones if he’s left alone. With Denver’s shooting woes on the bench, it’s hard to see another wing defender join the squad who cannot take and make those.
Mock Outcome (Nuggets draft 28th)
The Athletic: 51st
The Ringer: 46th
Yahoo! Sports: 37th
Verdict
McCullar has so many things going for him to be an effective NBA player that seeing him out of the first round in mocks makes me doubt my eyes. There are not thirty better pros in this draft than McCullar. He compares himself to Jalen Williams from the Thunder, and Jaime Jaquez Jr, the breakout forward last season. Some players have very optimistic self-comps, but in this case it’s easy to see how McCullar views himself in that vein with his on-ball skills complemented by his scoring burst and finishing touch and backed up by his plus defense.
His age is working against him. Not being able to roll these 19 and 20 year olds in workouts isn’t doing him any favors. But if you asked me if I would accept a Will Barton swingman who had an extra 25 pounds of muscle and lived and breathed defense I would say yes, absolutely. How much more could I possibly ask for? But the problem for him specifically in Denver is that they have 2 guys on the bench in Braun and Watson who are already filling the wing defender role and have shooting questions. From a Best Player Available standpoint though, if McCullar is there and some interior options are not, turning down good players because you don’t currently have a rotation spot for them is a good way to mess up a draft pick. Trades and injuries happen all the time. McCullar’s biggest fit problem honestly would be picking a new number – sorry Kevin, but 15 is already taken.
Denver, CO
Claimed by Christ, Free in Him: Archbishop Golka Celebrates First Juneteenth Mass in Denver
The annual archdiocesan celebration highlighted human dignity, Black Catholic faith and the healing power of Christ’s love.
“This is my first Juneteenth celebration as a priest or a bishop. I’m honored that this could be my first, right here,” Denver Archbishop James Golka said during the Mass commemorating Juneteenth at Curé d’Ars Parish in Denver on Sunday, June 14.
Celebrating the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States. This year’s annual archdiocesan Mass, organized by the Office of Black Catholic Ministry and bringing together parishes and groups from across Northern Colorado, also served to welcome the recently arrived archbishop, who was warmly greeted with processions by the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, liturgical participation by the Curé d’Ars youth group and choir, and additional music by the Queen of Peace African Catholic Society.
“You have a very beautiful church here. The building is okay, also,” Archbishop Golka remarked, noting the beauty of the people of God, the Church, amid laughter and applause.
Carolyne Richardson, member of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary at St. Ignatius of Loyola, was particularly touched by Golka’s quiet enthusiasm.
“The church was overflowing with diverse ethnicities joining in this celebration. Everyone was elated to meet Archbishop Golka. He seemed to look each parishioner in the eye with genuine care and concern,” she noted. “It was sheer jubilation watching him sing the gospel songs along with the choir.”
Recalling his time with fellow bishops at their annual spring meeting in Florida, the archbishop reflected on Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and its discussion on the reality of slavery.
“Although there was not always consistency in practice — slavery was long tolerated before being unequivocally condemned — there has been a continuous affirmation throughout history of the dignity of every human being created in the image of God, even if it took eighteen centuries for the full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized,” the Holy Father wrote. “This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one for which we cannot consider ourselves detached. It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord” (Magnifica Humanitas 176).
“Finally, Pope Leo says this to you, to all of us,” the archbishop noted as he finished quoting the Holy Father’s encyclical. “‘For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
(Photos by Matt Walker/Denver Catholic)
In his characteristically deeply pastoral way, Archbishop Golka offered the deep, personal love of Christ as a spiritual foundation and antidote to any and all attacks against humanity, be they in the form of slavery or the lurking dangers of artificial intelligence.
“At your Baptism, you were claimed by Jesus Christ. That’s our identity. The evil one tries to make us forget that. We forget that we are beloved children of God. We begin to think that maybe we are worthless, that there’s no reason why we’re here. That is a lie,” the archbishop emphasized. “When God created the universe, he had you in mind, to be here at this time, and this place for his purposes. And he wants to use you in everything. That means, he can use your weakness and your mistakes if you let him.”
The call to surrender more completely to the Lord of love, whose Sacred Heart burns in love for souls, resonated deeply with those in attendance.
“The Mass was more beautiful than I could have imagined,” said Kateri Williams, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry. “Archbishop Golka’s homily deeply touched those in attendance, and many were moved to tears as he spoke of the Father’s unconditional love and as he reminded us that each of us has a unique purpose and calling in God’s plan.”
Osahon “Osi” Ogbeide, one of several members of the Youth Ministry at Curé d’Ars who read the Prayers of the Faithful, was also taken by the seeming contradiction in Archbishop Golka’s homily.
“The homily focusing on being a slave and surrendering to the lord was very impactful because it reminded me that God wants the best for us. And that can only be achieved in surrendering to him,” he said.
As we continue to surrender to God and follow his plan, even when it surprises and confounds us, we participate in the Kingdom of God, the archbishop concluded.
“God’s purposes are much more immense than my plan. My plan is pretty puny,” Archbishop Golka said. “God’s purposes began with creation, and they’re going to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Reign of God. We get to participate in the Reign of God coming, if you use God’s gifts for God and God’s purposes.”
Factors such as declining birth rates and families moving out of the city are contributing to declining enrollment at Denver Public Schools. In turn, it’s reshaping the district’s future.
“I think we’re in a good position, but it’s responsible for us to always be looking in the future and knowing we have to make some adjustments,” said Chuck Carpenter, the district’s CFO.
In a two-year span between this past school year and next, DPS expects a decline in enrollment of around 1,700 students.
“We haven’t really seen anything like this,” said Carpenter in response to the consistent decline.
Because of this trend, the district is facing a $28 million structural deficit over the next five years.
“We have a balanced budget now, and we’re not predicting that we’ll have an unbalanced budget in three years,” said Carpenter. “We’re saying we need to make adjustments over the next three, four years, so that our budgets are balanced.”
DPS’s Director of Campus Planning, Andrew Huber, told CBS Colorado in an interview last month that those adjustments will likely include closing down more schools.
“Additional school closures will be necessary in the upcoming years. When exactly that would be is hard to forecast right now,” said Huber.
The district’s CFO says his biggest takeaway from a recent round of closures is to make sure to give families options for what’s next.
“No one wants their school closed, but the second-best option isn’t going to be the same for every family,” said Carpenter.
This issue could be one Denver faces for years to come.
“We sort of say, how many kids are born here? Because in five years, those kids will be kindergartners,” Carpenter added.
The city’s birth rate peaked in 2005, meaning those babies have already graduated high school. And, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, more young families move out of Denver and into surrounding counties than move into the city.
“I think school consolidation is very — I understand why people want to talk about it, but I think it’s more about, like, how do we make sure that the programs that are offered are rich programs,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter also says the district is closely monitoring some potential cuts to federal grants for students of poverty and language learners. He says those decisions will be made by October for the start of the new fiscal year, and cuts would have a “terrible” impact.
The Denver Broncos hosted eight tryout players at mandatory minicamp this week, including quarterback Sawyer Robertson. It sounds like the team has made decisions on those tryout players, and Robertson won’t be signed (at least not right now).
Instead, the Broncos are signing offensive lineman Reid Holskey (according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler) and cornerback Blake Cotton (according to the Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel). Holskey (6-6, 306 pounds) spent time on the Houston Texans’ practice squad in 2025 before joining the New York Giants in January. He was cut by New York last month. Cotton (6-2, 195 pounds) is a rookie who spent last fall at Utah, totaling 30 tackles and seven pass breakups in 13 games.
The two moves came one day after Denver wrapped up minicamp. The 91-man offseason roster was already full, so the Broncos will need to make corresponding moves to make room for Holskey and Cotton on the roster.
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