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Prospects the Denver Nuggets could target in the 2020 NBA Draft

By Dahniel Rogers

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 23: Jamal Murray poses with Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted seventh overall by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 23: Jamal Murray poses with Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted seventh overall by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Denver Nuggets Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Denver Nuggets Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images /

Power-big prospect

The last archetype of player I can see being selected here is the power-big. This is a weird group because the traditional power big is a purely back-to-the-basket and overpowering player, while today’s power big is more of a hybrid between the traditional power-big and today’s new wave of perimeter bigs.

An example of this is Vernon Carey, Jr. out of Duke. Listed at 6”10’ and 270 pounds, he was easily able to overpower his opposition at the college level. At the same time, he shot a respectable 38.1 percent on 3-pointers despite only making eight of them all season. He also had a solid shooting touch from the mid-range, but his jumper was a little awkward looking overall.

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In this sense, Carey isn’t purely a traditional power big since he is capable of stepping out and knocking down 3-pointers, but he clearly isn’t ready to be a stretch big primarily until he gets a little more comfortable taking a higher volume of 3’s. With that said, if he fell to 23 I would expect the Nuggets to grab him, as Mason Plumlee is one of the players that the Nuggets don’t have under contract next season, and Carey could be his replacement.

If Carey doesn’t drop in the draft, I think Isaiah Stewart from Washington would be a good player to fit this mold. Listed at 6”9’ and 250 pounds, Stewart also used his size to bully his college opposition. Stewart, like Carey, has solid shooting touch and range, despite only making 5-of-20 attempted 3-pointers all season. Despite this, I actually think he has a shooting form that will allow him to comfortably get off shots quicker and at a higher volume at the next level. He also seems to have a slightly higher motor when it comes to crashing the boards despite being smaller than Carey.

Similar to Carey, I could see Stewart as a decent replacement to Plumlee for the Nuggets and possibly being developed to play a smaller version of the role Paul Millsap played. Stewart is a little taller and lighter than Millsap and is missing the shooting efficiency and NBA experience of Millsap, but both can be gained with NBA playing time over the course of a few seasons.

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