Denver Nuggets: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Denver Nuggets didn’t do much in free agency, but had a busy draft night to start off their summer. Here’s a look at their complete 2016 offseason grades.

Heading into the offseason armed with a plethora of cap space and four draft picks, the Denver Nuggets‘ roster was already chock-full of young talent.

For a team whose biggest need for the summer was simply internal development for cornerstones like Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets also had the opportunity to add to an already promising core through the draft.

More from Denver Nuggets

• This overlooked skill proves that Nikola Jokic is underrated defensively
• Why the loss of impact players won’t damage Denver’s repeat title hopes
• Has Denver’s risky offseason hurt their repeat title hopes?
• The Nuggets’ sneaky great draft bolsters their championship roster
• Despite a short series, the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat saved the NBA

Like the Boston Celtics, the Nuggets were unable to package their extra draft picks into a trade to either move up in the draft or acquire a franchise star, but they certainly made the most of their four selections.

The Nuggets are still young, they’re still unlikely to make the playoffs next season in the West and they still don’t have an undisputed superstar. But with head coach Mike Malone instilling a new and positive culture for a young Mile High City club, the future looks bright.

Denver didn’t have a particularly active offseason aside from draft night and a random Dwyane Wade scare, but in the interest of being thorough, here’s a look at each and every piece the Nuggets added this summer with compete offseason grades.

Next: Draft Pick No. 1

Draft Pick No. 1

With the seventh pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Nuggets added another combo guard to a young backcourt already featuring second-year point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and third-year shooting guard Gary Harris.

While the declarations that Jamal Murray should start alongside Mudiay at the 2-spot — over Harris — are vastly premature, this Kentucky product could be a great long-term fit in the backcourt for this developing team.

As a 40.8 percent shooter from three-point range in his lone season for the Wildcats, Murray brings a pivotal NBA skill — catch-and-shoot accuracy — to the table right away. The fact that he can also create and pass with the ball in his hands adds another dimension of versatility to his game.

As a top-5 prospect, getting Murray at No. 7 was a great stroke of luck for the Nuggets, even if some of his skills overlap with Harris, a highly underrated 3-and-D wing whose starting job should not even remotely come into question.

That being said, Murray had a solid NBA Summer League despite a rough first few games. Though he only shot 42.5 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three-point range, he still averaged 19.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in five appearances. Over his last three games, he put up 26.0 points per game on 30-of-64 shooting.

Murray was a bit more selfish than expected in Summer League, but his ability to get buckets is unquestionable, even with the mundane shooting numbers. He clearly has holes in his game at this point, but the Nuggets getting Jamal Murray at No. 7 is still solid value for a team with a young, developing core.

Grade: A-

Next: Draft Pick No. 2

Draft Pick No. 2

Despite being armed to the teeth in the frontcourt with Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and Kenneth Faried (not to mention Danilo Gallinari, who can play some small-ball 4), the Nuggets used their 15th overall pick on stretch-4 Juan Hernangomez.

However, no one should make the mistake of thinking this is anything but yet another great first round selection.

A 6’9″ power forward, Hernangomez shoots the three-ball well and averaged 10.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in NBA Summer League. Though he only connected on two of his eight three-point attempts, he shot 54.5 percent from the floor overall and could help the Nuggets out right away if he plays in 2016-17.

From his penchant for crashing the offensive glass to his playmaking abilities to well-balanced stat lines like his 14-point, 12-rebound, five-assist, two-block game against the Miami Heat in Summer League, Hernangomez represents great value at No. 15.

The frontcourt is pretty crowded at the moment (especially after re-signing Darrell Arthur), but for a team looking to develop internally, that’s a problem for a later time — especially if he stays overseas for another season.

Grade: A-

Next: Draft Pick No. 3

Draft Pick No. 3

At No. 19, the guard slots and big men spots were already all but full. Adding yet another shooting guard with Denver’s third first round selection makes things interesting for Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, but Malik Beasley might have been a lottery-level talent if not for the stress fracture he suffered in workouts.

A 6’5″ 19-year-old from Florida State, Beasley is an athletic wing who shot 38.7 percent from long range in his lone collegiate season.

The stress fracture prevented him from showing the world what he could do at Summer League (aside from world class bench celebrations for his teammates), but his shooting, athleticism and ability to defend multiple positions makes him another great, young asset for this Nuggets team.

How he finds minutes in a backcourt featuring Mudiay, Jameer Nelson, Murray, Harris, Mike Miller, JaKarr Sampson and Axel Toupane remains to be seen, but having such an infusion of young talent and sorting the rest out later is a good problem to have.

Mike Malone will have his hands full with the rotation once Beasley is ready to play, but even if Denver has to trade its way out of its positional logjams, they’ve got plenty of assets to put to good use and strengthen an already promising roster.

At the very least, the Nuggets wound up losing out in the Dwyane Wade sweepstakes, preventing that backcourt rotation from being completely overloaded after the Beasley pick.

Grade: B-

Next: Draft Pick No. 4

Draft Pick No. 4

At No. 53, the Nuggets were wise/lucky to find such a high-upside draft-and-stash prospect like Frenchman Petr Cornelie, who may eventually join Lauvergne and Toupane on a Denver squad that’s only a departed Evan Fournier away from being Team France.

Joining the Nuggets at Summer League, Cornelie averaged 8.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Though he only shot 41.5 percent from the floor and went 1-for-5 from three-point range, Cornelie is a tantalizing 6’11” stretch-4 who can run the floor and do things like this:

As one of this draft’s best draft-and-stash candidates, it may be awhile before Nuggets fans get their chance to see what this 20-year-old can do in the NBA.

That late into the second round, the Nuggets avoided adding a third/fourth body at training camp while also keeping a potentially talented big in their back pocket. That’s really all you can ask for from the fourth and final pick of any NBA Draft.

Grade: B+

Next: Re-Signing D.A.

Re-Signing D.A.

All of the Nuggets’ new additions came through the 2016 NBA Draft, but that’s not to say Denver’s front office had nothing to do once free agency rolled around.

Although the Dwyane Wade fit made no sense from a positional fit or from the perspective of the Nuggets’ team goals for the 2016-17 season, the front office would’ve liked to haul in his star power — remember, Denver was dead last in home attendance last year — and his locker room charisma for the younger players.

D-Wade never materialized, but the Nuggets had already retained some of their veteran leadership by re-signing Darrell Arthur to a three-year, $23 million extension. That deal looks like mere peanuts compared to some of this summer’s more exuberant contracts, especially since he opted out of the final year of his contract ($2.9 million) and many predicted a larger pay raise.

For those who haven’t watched much of the Memphis Grizzlies or Denver Nuggets over the last few years, Darrell Arthur probably isn’t the most well-known commodity. But he’s a hard-working defender who shot 38.5 percent from three-point range last season and is one of the more underrated role players on the roster.

Arthur went on the record saying he wanted to stay in Denver because of the developing culture, he didn’t want to be traded at last year’s trade deadline, and his positive influence over the younger guys will help foster a winning mentality for the future.

How much playing time he earns in such a crowded frontcourt rotation remains to be seen, but even if his contributions amount to nothing more than spot minutes and helping the younger guys develop good habits, Arthur will be well worth his $7.7 million annual salary.

Grade: A-

Next: Miller Time

Miller Time

Arthur is considered a veteran at age 28, but bringing back someone with championship experience who isn’t looking to play as much was another score for Denver’s locker room. With a two-year, $6 million deal for Mike Miller, the Nuggets kept another critical veteran presence to help guide the youngsters.

It’s pretty clear by now that Miller’s days of being an actual, useful NBA player are probably behind him. Though he’s only 36, Miller is entering his 17th NBA season and averaged 1.3 points in 7.9 minutes per game last year.

Though he shot 36.5 percent from three-point range for the Nuggets last season, he made only 35.5 percent of his shots overall and played in just 47 games.

That being said, Miller’s value to this group was never about being able to knock down threes or play meaningful minutes on a young team that’s in no rush to start contending.

As long as Miller continues to set a positive example and display the proper work ethic for the youngsters in the backcourt, his minuscule $3 million salary will be an absolute steal for the Nuggets’ emerging basketball culture.

Grade: B

Next: Overall

Overall

As expected, the Denver Nuggets were never real players for this summer’s marquee free agents, and the one big name that wound up being tied to the organization — Dwyane Wade — accepted an offer from the Chicago Bulls instead.

That being said, the Nuggets probably dodged an expensive bullet with Wade, they didn’t make any ill-fated trades for a superstar by surrendering too many assets, and they strengthened a young core by drafting a few promising rookies and re-signing a pair of pivotal veteran leaders.

While it was somewhat disappointing the Nuggets were unable to package one or more of their four draft picks to move up or put together a trade for a superstar, Denver also put its picks to good use and avoided accelerating their rebuild too soon.

The shooting guard spot and power forward/center positions are filled to the brim with young talent that will have to duke it out for minutes, making Malone’s job no easier in 2016-17. But that’s a good problem to have for a team in no rush to win games thanks to its green core of Jokic, Mudiay, Harris, Nurkic and now Murray.

With Cornelie and possibly Hernangomez staying overseas, the Nuggets won’t have a complete frontcourt logjam next season, and though that Harris-Murray-Beasley trio will battle for minutes, Denver will also welcome back a healthy Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari to strengthen the wing.

More hoops habit: New York Knicks: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Nuggets were largely absent from free agency, but for a team that didn’t really need anything other than positive locker room influences and continued internal development, Denver’s front office can hardly be faulted for the way the team’s summer went.

Grade: B