1996 DRAFT: Traded Jalen Rose, Reggie Williams, 10th pick (Erick Dampier) for Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce and 23rd pick (Efthimi Rentzias). Drafted Jeff McInnis with the 37th pick.
In what many may consider the best draft in NBA history  (which featured star talent in Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Ray Allen to name a few), the Nuggets decided to not only deal one of their more-talented players (Rose) but to trade out of the lottery and for two over-the-hill guards, Jackson (who was 31) and Pierce (37). Of course Denver decided to deal Jackson back to Indiana at the trade deadline for scraps (Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson and two second round picks). But the kicker was drafting Rentzias, who was rumored at the time of the draft as the first Dirk Nowitzki. What he turned out to be was a 6-foot-11 scrub who played one season in the NBA. And considering the Nuggets could have walked away with Nash or Bryant to team up with Rose and Antonio McDyess. McInnis may have been the best thing to come out of the draft, but the Nuggets cut him before the start of the season.

1997 Draft: Drafted Tony Battie (5th pick), traded for Danny Fortson (10th), Bobby Jackson (23rd) and Eric Washington (46th).
This draft wasn’t terrible, per se, but it wasn’t as good as it could be. The worst was definitely Battie (also known as ‘El Busto’). Battie is still playing in the NBA 15 years later, but he has never been a star performer and has never averaged more than 10 points a game. Not exactly the pick you want to build your team around, especially when a young star by the name of Tracy McGrady was drafted two picks later.
Fortson was a big body that the Nuggets desperately needed. He even averaged a double-double during the 1998 season (11 points, 11.6 rebounds), but he was also dealt for Ervin Johnson – who was one of the best defensive centers in the NBA. The year prior Johnson was third in the NBA in blocks and second in rebounds.
Jackson was one of the better players to come out of the draft and was one of the few bright spots for the Nuggets in 1997. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 assists and started 53 games for the Nuggets. However, he was dealt the following season with Dean Garrett and the Nuggets’ 1999 draft pick for Chauncey Billups.
Washington started opening day for the Nuggets and averaged 12 points during his rookie season. But he only lasted two years in the NBA.

1980 DRAFT: Drafted James Ray with the 5th pick.
There aren’t many players from the 1980 draft that had as bad of a career as Ray. He lasted three seasons in the NBA and never averaged more than four points a game. He was suppose to be a 6-foot-9 dominating scorer for the Nuggets after leading Jacksonville University to the NCAA Tournament. Instead, he left the NBA in 1983 for Europe and never returned. Kiki Vandeweghe was drafted with the 11th pick in the same draft.

2004 DRAFT and 2005 DRAFT: Traded Jameer Nelson and Jarrett Jack for Linas Kleiza, Julius Hodge and Ricky Sanchez.
Nelson and Jack have combined to play 1,059 games in the NBA, Kleiza, Hodge and Sanchez played 411. Jack and Nelson are both starting point guards in the NBA, while Kleiza is a backup small forward and Hodge and Sanchez are out of the NBA. In fact, Sanchez has never played in the NBA. Of course Denver didn’t need a point guard at the time, but they did need a shooter and Hodge was not that. What makes the drafts even worst is Denver could have had Kevin Martin (26th) and Anderson Varejao (30th) in the 2004 Draft or David Lee (30th), Ersan Ilyasova (36th), Monta Ellis (40th), Lou Williams (45th) and Marcin Gortat (57th) in the 2005 Draft.

Some may consider the 2002 Draft, mainly due to the selection of Nikoloz Tskitishvili but the Nuggets also acquired Marcus Camby and Nene in that draft.

Despite numerous years of having a pick in the lottery the Denver Nuggets haven’t had a lot of success in the NBA Draft. There have been some major duds (Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Efthimis Rentzias), but some big hits (Carmelo Anthony, Kenneth Faried and Dikembe Mutombo). Here are some of the Nuggets best drafts:

2003 NBA DRAFT: Drafted Carmelo Anthony (3rd pick), Sani Becirovic (46th)
Say what you will about Anthony, but it’s tough to find a better Nuggets’ draft. Not only did the Nuggets jump their win total from 17 to 43 in Anthony’s rookie season, but Denver made the playoffs each of the seven seasons he played on the team. He also averaged more than 20 points each year and was second in scoring in the 2006-07 season (28.9). In the end, Anthony was dealt to New York in a mega-deal which brought Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov to the Nuggets. Becirovic, who was a prominent player in Europe, has never taken his talents over to the U.S. and it is highly unlikely he’ll ever play a game in the NBA. He is 31 years old and his career has been devastated by knee injuries.

1991 NBA DRAFT: Drafted Dikembe Mutombo (4th), Mark Macon (8th) and traded for Winston Garland
Macon never panned out for the Nuggets and was quickly traded two seasons later for Alvin Robertson. However, Mutombo was a solid performer for Denver (see here for his accomplishments). Probably the biggest accomplishment for the 7-foot-2 finger-wagging defensive enforcer was guiding the eighth-seeded Nuggets past top-seeded Seattle Supersonics. Mutombo left Denver in 1996 and signed a max deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Garland was Denver’s starting point guard in 1991, but was waived later on.

1992 NBA DRAFT: Drafted LaPhonso Ellis (5th pick), Bryant Stith (13th)
Stith and Ellis were never at the magnitude of Mutombo, but both were legitimate starters for the Nuggets. Ellis was chosen to the All-Rookie Team and also nearly averaged a double-double (15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds) his rookie year. He was an intense rebounder, defender and a solid offensive threat. Later in his career he developed a three-point shot as Denver tried to move him over to small forward. He was hampered by a knee injury during his third season in the NBA, which limited how he played the next two seasons. Despite playing only 55 games in 1996, he led the Nuggets in scoring (21.9 points).
Stith was the Nuggets starting shooting guard from 1993 to 1997 and made his living on the defensive side of the ball (averaging nearly 1.5 steals from 1993 to 1996) and his team-first mentality. In 1996 when a number of free agents were cashing in on new paychecks Stith deferred and re-signed with the Nuggets at a discounted price ($22 million for five years). In 2000, Denver traded Stith to the Boston Celtics.

1998 NBA DRAFT: Drafted Raef LaFrentz (3rd pick), Tremaine Fowlkes (54th), Ryan Bowen (55th) and traded for Nick Van Exel
LaFrentz was suppose to be the safe pick on the draft and he was. However, the Nuggets passed on three would-be stars in Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce. LaFrentz toyed with the Nuggets with his potential. One game he’d have a 20-point, 10-rebound performance, but would follow that up by barely cracking 10 points. He was a great weak-side shotblocker, but wasn’t a great defender and constantly received the wrath of Dan Issel, who coached the Nuggets at the time.
Van Exel was the big gamble that paid off for the Nuggets as they dealt Tony Battie, aka ‘El Busto’ and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue to get the All-Star point guard with a bad attitude. Van Exel was everything the Nuggets needed and more. He raised his scoring in each of the three seasons he was in Denver and nearly averaged a double-double in 1999, averaging 16.1 points and 9 rebounds. He teamed up with Antonio McDyess to put Denver in the playoff race each season, but in the end the Nuggets fell short. After failing to make the playoffs for three straight seasons, the Nuggets packaged Van Exel and LaFrentz to Dallas in a salary-dumping trade.
Bowen was drafted for his energy and hustle and he didn’t disappoint. After spending a season overseas playing basketball, Bowen played for the Nuggets from 1999 to 2004. Despite never averaging more than five points a game, Bowen was a key factor of the Nuggets rotation, playing hard every time he got on the floor. Fowles never played for the Nuggets.

2009 NBA DRAFT: Traded for Ty Lawson

The 1995 Draft could be considered one of Nuggets better draft due to Antonio McDyess’ success. But McDyess was traded two years later and played his best years when he returned to Denver as a free agent. The 2011 Draft when the Nuggets snagged Faried and Jordan Hamilton may end up as one of Denver’s best drafts, but it’s too early to tell. However, when the Nuggets acquired Lawson in the 2009 Draft may have saved the franchise. Imagine the impact the Anthony trade would have on the Nuggets if Lawson wasn’t there? Raymond Felton and Andre Miller were good, but not great and both can’t do half the things that Lawson can. Lawson is one of the quickest player up and down the court and shoots the ball at a proficient rate and rarely turns it over. His confidence continues to grow and we saw how dangerous he can be in the first-round playoff series against the L.A. Lakers.