Denver Nuggets 5-on-5 Roundtable

Best case scenario here for Denver: let’s say the Nuggets end up with a Top 3-5 pick in this year’s draft. If you were Tim Connelly who would you select?

TD: I’m an Aussie and Aussies stick with Aussies, so from what I’m hearing Ben Simmons might fall a bit in the draft. IF he’s available it would be fantastic to snatch him up, we could slot him in anywhere that’s needed, but I honestly would tend to play him at the two guard spot. Move Harris to the bench and play Wilson Chandler at the four behind Faried and Barton behind Gallo at the three. With a starting line-up of Mudiay, Simmons, Gallinari, Faried and Jokic playoffs would be in sight.

EW: This is looking less and less likely by the day, but if the ping pong balls bounced in Denver’s favor and they got a top 3-5 selection, I’d want to see them select either Brandon Ingram from Duke or Jamal Murray from Kentucky. Ingram isn’t the Kevin Durant clone most people want you to believe he is, but his ceiling is probably the highest of any player in this class. Ingram can play the three or the four at the next level, given his immense length, sporting a 7’3″ wingspan and standing at 6’9″. Ingram’s length makes him invaluable as a defender, showcasing the range to guard all over the floor. He can also really shoot it and extend the floor, hitting 41.3 percent of his three-point attempts this season at Duke. He clearly needs to get stronger and could polish his ball handling skills a bit more, but Ingram has shown improvements in those areas already. The Blue Devils star can score and create off the dribble without problem, also gaining 20+ pounds during his time at Duke. Ingram would finally give Denver a true potential go-to guy on the wing, also solving the Nuggets stretch four issues a little and making players like Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler even more expendable. Adding Ingram to a core of Jokic, Mudiay and Harris would provide Nuggets fans with excitement and hope for years to come.

Jamal Murray on the other hand is someone I’m higher on than pretty much everyone and is a guy that probably won’t go in the top three picks come June. However, in my opinion he’s every bit worth a top three selection and might have the most star power of anybody in this class. Kentucky’s freshman standout is a extremely versatile scorer, who can fill it up in a plethora of ways and has shown a C.J. McCollum type game. He’s the best shot-maker in this class, showing the ability to shoot very effectively off the dribble or off the ball. Murray also has sneaky good handles and is a very acrobatic finisher, possessing great body control when adjusting to contact at the rim. Murray has scored at least 23 points nine times this season for the Wildcats, again showing his polish as a scorer already. Like Ingram, he would only extenuate Denver’s young core and give them a knockdown shooter they so desperately need. The only downside to getting Murray would be the impact it would have on the production of players like Will Barton and even more so Garry Harris. I think Murray’s arrival in Denver could lead to a similar situation with Harris, like we’ve seen this season with Jokic and Nurkic.

AU:  I really like Henry Ellenson from Marquette. He’s 6 feet 10 inches and is already 230 lbs. and could conceivably fill out, adding on another 10-15 lbs. of muscle. His game has already been compared to that of Kevin Love and I think he really has a great inside-outside game that is only scratching the surface of his potential. Having a front line of Gallo, Jokic and Ellenson with Faried coming off the bench would give other teams fits.

AN: I keep feeling like Jamal Murray is destined for this team. He’s a BEAST and would provide quite the punch off the bench, or fill in instantly in case one of our guards needs a game off. Dragan Bender is tempting, especially with the success of Kristapz Porzingis and the Nuggets need for a stretch four, but I just feel Murray is a special player.

JD: If the Nuggets are lucky Brandon Ingram could slip to number 3 and they should definitely grab him if he’s still left on the board. Ingram is a talented scorer and someone that can create his own shot, something every team can use more of. He would slot in nicely with the Nuggets and this could be the kicker which influences a Gallinari trade. If the Nuggets can secure Ingram it could mean they try and bring in Blake Griffin to play the four. A starting line-up of Mudiay, Harris, Ingram, Griffin and Jokic would have alot of ball movement and a lot of jump shooting potential.

Next: Worst case scenario happens with the draft picks, what do you do?