Mar 10, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Austin Rivers (0) lays the ball up against the Florida State Seminoles in the second half during the semi-finals of the 2012 ACC Men

Okay, lets not get carried away, Mark Kiszla is not an NBA-savvy writer. In fact, Kiszla isn’t much more than a glorified columnist, who’s job is to cause controversy and get reader reactions. So when he says the Nuggets should trade up and draft Austin Rivers, just nod your head.

Rivers is a big name in the 2012 NBA Draft, but is he can’t miss prospect? No, far from it. Should the Nuggets draft him? Of course, he’d provide an offensive spark off the bench. Should they trade up for him? Sure, if it means moving a player like Timofey Mozgov or Corey Brewer. But by no means should they give up some of their depth to draft him. Especially considering how talented the shooting guard class is in this draft.

Rivers is slightly overrated due to his dad being Doc Rivers and playing at Duke. As a freshman he was an inconsistent shooter, wasn’t a very good team player and a below average defender. He also is a bit undersized and may not be much more than an OJ Mayo-type in the NBA.

Rivers is currently projected as the third best shooting guard in the draft, behind Bradly Beal and Jeremy Lamb. However, this draft also features talented, young players in Evan Fournier, Tony Wroten and Dion Waiters, as well as sharpshooters in Doron Lamb and John Jenkins. All of which should be around when Denver drafts with the 20th pick.

Now, if the Nuggets wants to use its depth to trade up and improve the talent on their team they should look into players like Beal and Thomas Robinson or even Harrison Barnes. All of which are projected to go in the top-5 of the draft. However, with such a deep amount of talent in this draft Denver really doesn’t need to move up in this draft.

Especially not to get Rivers.

Kansas Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson (right) posts up against Ohio State Buckeyes forward Jared Sullinger during the second half in the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA men

The Denver Nuggets season has been anything but boring and yet the Nuggets are on the brink of making the playoffs for a ninth straight season. However, even if Denver misses the playoffs the future is still very bright for the franchise.

The Nuggets have a young core to build around, led by Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari, Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson and Jordan Hamilton and they also have a pick in the 2012 NBA Draft – which should be one of the deepest drafts in years.

Denver’s pick can be anywhere between the 12th and 19th pick, and if the Nuggets miss the playoffs they have a chance of hitting the NBA Lottery and landing one of the top three picks. Of course, Denver’s luck in the past hasn’t been great. Since 1990, the Nuggets have only gotten a top-three pick three times (1990 , 1998 and 2003) in which they drafted Chris Jackson (later to be known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf), Raef LaFrentz and Carmelo Anthony.  (more…)