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…)