Denver Nuggets: Complete 2017 offseason grades

Drafting Monte Morris

Four-year players in college often struggle to make the leap into the modern NBA. This is mostly because those players with NBA talent are often identified early enough and encouraged to leave school early. But players do put in a full college career before entering the draft, with mixed results.

Of all of the positions, point guard seems to be the one most likely to produce a high-level player entering the draft after a senior season. Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and Darren Collison have all made an impact at the point after playing four seasons of college basketball.

Monte Morris was a star at Iowa State, starring as one of the country’s top point guards throughout his college career. By the end of his senior season Morris broke the record for assist-to-turnover ratio, which he had set himself his freshman year.

The upside to become a star player is probably not in Morris’ future, but he does have the chops and experience to become a career backup. Since the draft, Denver has since signed Morris to a two-way contract, and in the case of an injury to one of the Nuggets’ top three point guards, Morris could see run in the league.

At pick 51 the options are limited, and Morris is a player who has shown he can produce on big stages. Whether he will have the athleticism to take a step further will have to be seen, but he was a good use of a late second round pick.

Grade: B+