Report: Denver Nuggets are fielding calls for lottery pick
It seems like no lottery pick is safe. According to Christopher Dempsey, the Denver Nuggets have been talking and fielding calls in regards to their 2014 NBA Draft pick.
"The Nuggets have already taken — and made — their fair share of trade phone calls concerning their draft pick, just three weeks before this year’s NBA draft.“We’ve had a lot of conversations about a ton of different things — picks, trades, we’re pretty active right now,” Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly told The Post.So they’ll retool, and they’ll start by using the pick as a key cog in the improvement. Trading the selection, among other assets, for a veteran or moving up in the draft are the two areas of most interest to the Nuggets."
Last season was a bit of a disappointment for a Denver Nuggets team who many thought would make the playoffs. After the fallout with George Karl and Andre Iguodala, the Nuggets were set to rely on Ty Lawson, Javale McGee and a bevy of forwards to catapult them to the playoffs, but between sporadic coaching and injuries the team was forced to settle for a 36 win season which brought them the 11th overall pick.
And with the upcoming draft expected to be deep, it’s no surprise that Denver is fielding calls. At 11, players such as Zach Lavine, Aaron Gordon, Nik Stauskus, Doug McDermott, and Gary Harris, all second- and third-tier players will be available, and to a team that has a bevy of assets and potential targets for the Nuggets to pouch on their roster, this could give Denver the chance to move up or down, depending on whoever presents the best package.
What’s most important is that the Nuggets aren’t boxing themselves into the draft pick. With so much possible draft-day action upcoming, there’s no reason to do so.