The #7 Pick

The Nuggets hold the #7 pick.  What do they need?  The current roster is a good mix of long-term veterans, expiring contracts and up-and-coming youth...unfortunately the morale of the team is in a bad bad place.  What they need is a coach that will get the most out of the roster they already have. Could the #7 pick net them Coach Thibodeau? Coach Kidd was traded to Milwaukee last year for two 2nd round picks so #7 overall seems a bit rich even for a coach everyone respects and admires.   A new coach will hopefully make a difference but in one year, how much could even a great coach do?  No matter who they end up getting at #7, its probably a prelude to next year's Nuggets lottery pick.

At the top of the roster is PG Lawson (2 yrs/$25.6m), Galinari (1 yr/$11.5m) and Faried (4 yrs/$52.2m).  These are good players on good deals...but the Nuggets have to get rid of them. Lawson is unhappy, Galinari has never lived up to his potential and Faried is not the beloved player within the organization that it seems like he ought to be.  Though I would try to make it work (they are good players on decent deals), trading all three looks to be a priority.  If the Nuggets really had an interest in Okafor, Towns or Russell, they could make a nice package to move up in the draft.  Could they interest the Lakers in Lawson and #7 to move up to #2?  Could they interest the Knicks in Faried straight up for #4?  Those don't seem unreasonable deals: the Lakers and Knicks want veterans not rookies and there isn't anyone in this draft that strikes me as an oh-my-god talent, I can see the Lakers and Knicks choosing the known commodities and letting the Nuggets handle player development duties.

Next on the Nuggets roster is a series of expiring deals: SF Chandler ($7.1m), PF Hickson ($5.6m), SG Foye ($3.2m), PG Nelson ($2.8m).  These are all pieces that can be packaged to move up in the draft, as well.  Again: the Nuggets have good players on reasonable contracts, seemingly they've done everything right in building this roster.  But if the assembled players and coaches all hate each other, then the hard work is down the drain.  A roster that looks competitive (or at least not a disaster) should be better than what the Nuggets have been lately.  But, hey, the Bucks had the worst record in the league last year with a team that wasn't that bad and they juked into the playoffs (w/out Jabari), so maybe the Nuggets can improve greatly just by bringing everyone back.

The next three guys are still on rookie deals: PF Nurkic, C Lauvergne, SG Harris.  I'd keep all three of these guys but if a great deal is on the table, then all three could be had.  Jamaal Franklin and Erick Green (each under 2 yrs/$2m) are...I don't know who they are.  They also possess the #57 pick but that's likely trade filler or reserved for future considerations.

How they draft will probably revolve around what trades they're able to make around draft day.  If we assume that the Nuggets come back with this team fairly well intact than I suggest they'll draft SG Hezonja; SG Harris did not have a sparkling rookie campaign (but honestly not much sparkled in Denver last year), Hezonja would give them size on the wing and (hopefully) a reliable scorer; since everyone on this roster is available, bolstering the SG would give them more impetus to let go of Galinari or Chandler.  I think a better choice might be PF Lyles to give them size down low (making Faried even more available) and still give them some wing scoring.  They might have an eye on SF Johnson, as well, I think it probably depends on what deals they can make around draft day.

Nuggets have some pieces to work with: reasonably priced veteran PG (Lawson), budding superstar on friendly deal (Faried), expiring veteran filler-upper (Galinari), mid-level priced wing scorer (Chandler), underrated rebounder/role player (Hickson), couple more expirings, couple more tantalizing youngsters, and the #7 pick.  The Nuggets are primed to make moves.  We'll see who moves with them.