NBA Draft 2016: 5 best destinations for Denzel Valentine

One NBA destination that could make a great deal of sense for Valentine to land is with the Denver Nuggets in the middle of the first round, probably in the mid-teens. While Denver will have their own NBA Draft Lottery pick for having another sub-.500 season in 2015-16, the Nuggets will have an additional first round pick from their trade last summer with the Houston Rockets in exchange for point guard Ty Lawson.

Lawson may no longer be with the Rockets, now with the Pacers in the Eastern Conference, but the Nuggets could take advantage of the Rockets’ pick and draft Valentine in the mid-teens. Houston has had a down season after making it to the 2015 Western Conference Finals. The Rockets will likely be either one of the best teams in the NBA Draft Lottery or get either the No. 6-8 seed in the West this time through the Western Conference Playoffs.

What Valentine could bring to the Nuggets is a great complimentary player to point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who the Nuggets drafted in the lottery last year after a year overseas in China. Denver already has a slew of interesting role players on their team and the front office may look to move some of those players this offseason to better position the Nuggets for a better shot at making the playoffs in 2016-17.

Valentine probably won’t be a star for the Nuggets, but with him being the second of two first round picks, there are several worse options for a player like Valentine that can hold his own on both ends of the floor. Regardless of if Valentine pans out, Denver has already won the Lawson trade with the Rockets. Anything Valentine would provide Denver would serve as a bonus to last summer’s lopsided trade with Houston.

Next: 4. Indiana Pacers