Denver Nuggets: Two targets if Denver trades up in the draft

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The Denver Nuggets hold the 14th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. If they make a trade to move up, who could Denver target?

Holding a late lottery pick can be tricky for NBA teams. A team who wanted to make the playoffs falls short, but doesn’t get the luxury of a high draft pick to improve their team. Late lottery picks can still develop into All-Stars, but having a higher pick generally yields more superstars.

With the 14th pick in this years draft, the Nuggets will have their choice of quality young talent. However, the question is whether Denver would want to sacrifice some of it’s assets to trade up and select a greater talent.

If the Nuggets did trade up, they would most likely be targeting a pick in the 7-10 range. Acquiring a pick in that range would allow them to get a player that most likely wouldn’t fall to them at 14. It also would get them a player who would most likely have a higher ceiling than a player who is picked at 14.

In order for Denver to trade up, they would have to sacrifice some assets. They would certainly have to part with the 14th pick, as well as some of their young players. Those players could be anybody from Trey Lyles, Malik Beasley, or Juancho Hernangomez. They also might have to sacrifice future picks, which Denver doesn’t like to do. If Denver were to trade up, it might look something like this:

With each slot Denver moves down from #7, the price of the pick decreases. It is hard to tell what Denver would be willing to give up, but with so much depth, they could afford to trade some of it to move up in the draft.

If Denver has a player that they really like, it makes sense for them to trade up. The 2018 draft has a lot of depth, so great players could fall into the 7-12 range. If Denver makes a splash and trades up, here are two players that they could target.