Jaden McDaniels
Jaden McDaniels is listed 6’9″ and 200 pounds with a 7’0″ wingspan, so he’s a player who — once again — has similar size to Jerami Grant. McDaniels, who declared for the 2020 NBA Draft after just one season at the University of Washington, is an athletic forward who has the potential to defend multiple positions (likely wings and forwards) well while also having the potential offensively to be a threat as a slasher, cutter, and shooter.
In short, he can pretty much grow into the player that Grant is. He arguably has more natural talent when you see the plays that he can make with the ball in his hands but he’s still raw, inconsistent and he’ll need to bulk up his slight frame.
Because he came from a zone defense in college, there will be a steeper learning curve for him in learning, understanding and recognizing NBA defenses. With a major rotation player in Michael Porter Jr. already going through that, adding a rookie who still has plenty to learn defensively may not appeal to the Nuggets unless they’re confident that Porter can make significant strides with his defensive awareness and technique.
McDaniels averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game in the 2019-20 season, while shooting 40.5% from the field, 33.9% from three and 76.3% from the free-throw line. There’s a great chance that he’ll be available when Denver has their first-round pick.
What do you think about one of these players being a replacement option for Jerami Grant? Let us know on Twitter @Nugg_Love.