NBA draft prospect preview: Ivan Rabb

If the Nuggets remain in their position after the draft lottery, they will select 13th in the NBA Draft.

There are several directions that the team could go in this loaded draft. They could trade their pick up or down, and bank on free agency or their young core. They could get more picks from other teams for their pick as well. This being said, a player that could be interesting in the Mile High City is Ivan Rabb from Cal.

With Danilo Gallinari opting out of his contract this summer, is it really worth it for the Nuggets to pay big money for him? It could be interesting to see who they could go after, and Rabb could be

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an option. He is a forward, who could add even more to the high-powered offense that Denver had a season ago. He also has some pretty good defense, and would bring that to the table as well.

So who is Ivan Rabb? Well to start, he is a forward, standing at 6-11, and he spent two years at the University of California. He is from Oakland, California, and he is a young and potentially great asset to a team.

It would be nice to see him get picked because the power forward position is arguably the weakest on the team. In the current state, the power forwards include Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, and Juancho Hernangomez. I include Hernangomez, although he is more of a small forward to me than a power forward. Rabb would add another player to that group, and could look good next to the likes of Nikola Jokic and company.

In his last season for the Golden Bears, Rabb averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game (per basketball-reference). That’s a pretty good stat-line, especially for a player in the Pac-12. He averaged 14 points while shooting 49 percent from the field, including 40 percent from deep. Rabb added a block per game to this line as well, as his height could be an advantage at the power forward position.

This Nuggets team is one that does not need too many more players. This being said, it would not hurt them to add another power forward. I do believe that they are just a few steps away from becoming a contender, and the first one is here. They have to play their cards right in the draft, and then in free agency this off-season. If they manage to do that, then next season could be fun in the Mile High City.