NBA Draft: 5 best destinations for Ben Simmons
By John Buhler
73. . West. Northwest. Denver Nuggets. 5. player
The Denver Nuggets through their first 70 games are 29-41, good enough for 10th place in the Western Conference and ninth worst record in the entire NBA. Denver doesn’t have great odds to land either the No. 1 or No. 2 pick if the season were to end today, but should the Nuggets miraculously wind up with either pick, they’d be one of the better situations for Simmons to go to in the 2016 NBA Draft lottery no doubt.
While the Nuggets have some interesting players like power forward Kenneth Faried, point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, and center Nikola Jokic, Denver more than any team in the NBA lacks a household name on their roster. Frankly, this has really been the case since the Nuggets traded former No. 3 overall pick Carmelo Anthony to his hometown New York Knicks for the good, but often-injured wing Danilo Gallinari.
Though Denver isn’t a playoff caliber team by any means in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference, the Nuggets do have some intriguing players that they could build as a supporting cast around Simmons or trade them to provide better complimentary players to their roster.
Denver’s head coach Mike Malone seems like a respectable head coach, but then again doesn’t use the mile high altitude to his advantage with the Nuggets to play at a frenetic pace to create an ultimate home court advantage.
In the long shot scenario where Denver gets to No. 2 and Simmons isn’t No. 1 overall, the thought of building at team around Simmons at point forward and Mudiay at point guard does seem highly interesting.
However more than anything, getting Simmons to Denver makes the Nuggets a more viable destination for prospective free agents and future coaching staffs if the Malone era in Denver ultimately doesn’t pan out. Simmons would be the biggest superstar on the Denver hardwood since Anthony, so there’s always that in terms of building a brand with the Nuggets.
Next: 4. Sacramento Kings