Denver Nuggets: Who to avoid at 21 in the 2022 NBA Draft?

The Denver Nuggets have two first-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft and while it’s likely one or both are moved before Thursday’s draft, if they keep the 21st pick, there are a few red flags to watch out for.

Drafting this late in the first round is essentially a crapshoot and it’s a crapshoot the Denver Nuggets have excelled at in recent years. The most notable late-first-round wins are obvious: Bones Hyland and Malik Beasley while the second-round wins are even more obvious: Nikola Jokic and Monte Morris.

But all of those players were drafted by Tim Connelly and we’re now entering the first NBA draft with a new lead basketball decision-maker – Calvin Booth. What will his drafting resume look like and what will it start with? Time will tell.

Here are three players the Denver Nuggets should avoid in the 2022 NBA Draft:

The Denver Nuggets should avoid Walker Kessler in the 2022 NBA Draft

I think Walker Kessler, the 20-year-old big man out of Auburn, will actually be good. He might even be very good, playing solid defense for ten-plus seasons.

But for what the Denver Nuggets need and for what his role could be if he hits his absolute ceiling, the team should stay well away from drafting Kessler with the 21st pick.

At the moment, he’s projected somewhere between the mid-20s and mid-second round so who knows where he’ll actually land, but at seven-feet with a seven-foot-five wingspan, he’s your dad’s dad kind of basketball prospect.

Kessler blocked 4.5 shots per game in his sophomore season (no, that wasn’t a typo) and in the NBA, he’ll likely protect the rim at the same level.

The problem is, he might not be able to defend in space or really drive an efficient offense when he’s out there. That’s going to be an issue because behind Nikola Jokic, Michael Malone needs someone to keep the ship afloat while the Serbian sits. If all Kessler is doing is playing solid defense, they can find a player like that for the minimum in free agency. Heck, they found DeMarcus Cousins in the middle of the season.

That’s not to say teams should avoid him, with theoretical shooting range, he could be a poor man’s Myles Turner one day. But if he hits his absolute ceiling, it won’t be in ten minutes behind Nikola Jokic.

Also, here’s hoping that Zeke Nnaji can take steps forward next season and assume more backup big man minutes.