The Denver Nuggets may find themselves in company soon if they can’t get a deal worked out with restricted free agent JaVale McGee.

David Aldridge of NBA.com tweeted earlier on Friday,

Nuggets continue to “grind it out” w/JaVale McGee reps, aware that whichever team (PDX, Indy) loses Hibbert will have $ available 2 offer.

No doubt which ever team doesn’t land Roy Hibbert will be hot on McGee’s trail, but currently it seems everything depends on what the Indiana Pacers want to do.

The Portland Trailblazers offered Hibbert a 4-year deal that is in the range of $58 million and if the Pacers don’t choose to match they probably aren’t likely to offer a major deal to McGee. In fact it wouldn’t be surprising if they prefer to go cheaper and get a free agent big like Chris Kaman.

The Blazers on the other hand are destined to land a top free agent this offseason and if they miss out on Roy Hibbert and Nicolas Batum, they may opt to throw a lot of money towards McGee.

A superstar? A shooter? To get older? A backup center and point guard (in case JaVale McGee and Andre Miller leave)?

All are fair considerations. However, Masai Ujiri and the Denver Nuggets did like they usually do and go the unconvential way.

They did the same thing in 2011 when they didn’t rush out and trade Carmelo Anthony, like many observers suggested they do. And it’s fair to say that panned out.

As well as in the last draft when they decided to stand pat and let a player like Kenneth Faried fall to them. And then trading for a player like Jordan Hamilton, who had a questionable attitude in college.

And again before last season, when they traded for Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer, despite being set at both positions.

And they did the same thing at the trade deadline when they traded veteran center Nene for a young, athletic and erratic center in JaVale McGee.

And it’s fair to say all those moves have panned out.

So what makes drafting Evan Fournier and Quincy Miller different?

Despite only being 19 years old, Fournier has not only succeeded but has dominated at a far higher level than the NCAA. He is considered the best prospect from France since Tony Parker. Even better than Nicolas Batum.

He also has a cockiness about him that this Nuggets team lacks. That cockiness has helped him become a dangerous player in the clutch and cooliness under pressure.

His size and athleticsm makes him an intriguing shooting guard prospect, one that has great ball handling skills and a jumper to match. Probably his biggest strength is getting the basket and he has a knack for creating contact and getting his shot up as soon as he feels the contact – which can be a good and bad thing.

The thought around many in the NBA is that the Nuggets are going to stash Fournier overseas for a year, which frees up a roster spot for this season.

Miller is another player that has a great combination of talent and size. He has a smooth jump shot and despite his lack of strength he has shown he isn’t afraid of battling near the basket. However, it is easy to see why he slipped to the second round. Many teams were scared off by his ACL injury, which hampered his freshman year at Baylor. He wasn’t able to show his full arsenal last season for the Bears. Miller still is a work in progress, he has a slow release on his jump shot and needs to bulk up. However, any time you get a player with his talent in the second round it is worth the gamble.

And Izzet Turkyilmaz, well he looks good on video.

NBA DRAFT GRADE: B-