NBA Draft Results: Denver Nuggets select Gary Harris No. 19 overall
By Brad Rowland
While still unofficial at this point, the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets struck a trade that will send the 16th and 19th overall picks from Denver to Chicago in exchange for the 11th pick that emerged as the rights to Creighton forward Doug McDermott. Since the trade was reported, the Nuggets (acting in Chicago’s position) pulled the trigger on selecting Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic with the 16th pick, and now, Denver has chosen to select Michigan State guard Gary Harris.
The 6-foot-4 Harris was previously projected to land in the mid to late lottery, but after a precipitous fall, he appears to be an absolute steal for the Nuggets at this point in the process. However, Denver also traded for shooting guard Arron Afflalo earlier in the day, and it will be intriguing to see how the two players mesh.
From a broader perspective, however, Gary Harris was, rather easily, the best prospect on the board for Denver, and at this stage, the Nuggets are an organization that should be stockpiling assets for the future. Size is a concern for some people with Harris’ game, but he is an electric athlete who also possesses what most consider to be a solid and developing jump shot, and at this point in the draft, that combination is lethal.
The Denver Nuggets have been busy on the day of the 2014 NBA Draft, and Gary Harris appears to be the newest member of the organization. Now, all that stands between him and an arrival in Denver is the approval of a draft-day trade.