The Denver Nuggets have yet another lottery pick in the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft with the 13th overall selection. Here’s a brief look back through their draft history.
The Denver Nuggets are among the unluckiest teams in the history of the NBA Draft Lottery. They’ve made 15 appearances on lottery night, and not once have they moved up from their poll position. They’ve never won the lottery either, and in fact, they’ve never drafted higher than third overall.
But that hasn’t stopped them from striking gold with their selections, particularly in these last few years with general manger Tim Connelly calling the shots.
Connelly has done well on draft night since taking over in 2013. But the Nuggets’ recent string of draft success actually started back in 2011, when then general manager Masai Ujiri traded Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.
Among the many pieces the Nuggets received in return was a 2014 first round pick. That pick ended up being the 11th in the draft, which Tim Connelly used to select Doug McDermott before turning him into Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic in a trade with the Bulls.
They’ve drafted in the top-20 four more times since that trade, and Connelly has done well turning those picks into a formidable young core. Emmanuel Mudiay, Jamal Murray, Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley all carry good value either on the court or in a potential trade.
Denver will draft in the top-20 again in 2017 with the 13th overall pick, where they’ve only drafted twice before. Let’s comb through some draft history and see how they’ve utilized their late lottery picks in the past.
Late lotto selections
Denver last drafted 13th back in 1994, when they selected the former member of Michigan’s Fab-Five, and future podcast extraordinaire Jalen Rose. Rose didn’t last long in Denver though, as he played two seasons before he was traded to Indiana for Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce.
Denver also drafted 13th two years prior, when they selected shooting guard Bryant Stith out of Virginia. Stith averaged just 10.2 points per game in his 10-year career, while shooting only 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. Connelly and his staff are obviously hoping for a more productive player this time around.
The Nuggets have fallen just outside of the lottery with the 15th overall pick five different times, highlighted by selections Brent Barry (1995) and Juan Hernangomez (2016).
Barry was traded to the Clippers and never played for Denver, but the rookie Hernangomez proved to be a valuable piece for Denver last year. He might be poised for a big spike in minutes next season. Connelly will hope to find similar success with this year’s pick.
Second round selections
The Nuggets will have two more selections in the second round, drafting 49th and 51st. Historically, teams don’t find players of much value this late in the draft. Denver has drafted at each of those positions before, coming away with Leon Powe (2006) and Ronnie Valentine (1980), respectively. Powe was traded to Boston immediately and Valentine’s rookie season was the only one of his professional career.
Finding talent with these picks isn’t likely, but it isn’t impossible either. Just two years ago they drafted Nikola Jokic with the 41st overall pick. While no one was paying attention, Denver found their franchise cornerstone.
This is what was on ESPN when the #Nuggets drafted Nikola Jokic with the 41st pick pic.twitter.com/iyzvv8QnLf
— Aniello Piro (@MediaByAP) February 11, 2017
Lottery night hasn’t been kind to Denver over the years, but the draft itself has. There’s been an awful lot of talk regarding the depth of this draft class, and the Nuggets will hope that is indeed the case.
Next: NBA Draft - The best player selected in all 60 spots
Another successful June for Tim Connelly could help push Denver over the hump and into the postseason. The draft will take place on Thursday, June 22 in Brooklyn.