After the Nuggets traded up in the draft to select DaRon Holmes II out of Dayton, the team then dealt away veteran point guard Reggie Jackson. The two moves made sense, but in combination, they cost the team a whopping six second-round picks.
The Nuggets are short on assets and shorter on draft picks. At this point it appears likely they’ll have to sign multiple players to veteran minimum contracts just to fill out the roster. They are on a tight crunch and need to make some winning moves on the margins and find creative ways to add talent on the cheap.
Nuggets sign 4 undrafted free agents
Well, one way to tackle that problem is by signing undrafted free agents and the Nuggets wasted no time in doing just that. Shortly after the draft ended, the team agreed to deals with four players who went undrafted: Jaylin Williams out of Auburn, Trey Alexander out of Creighton, PJ Hall out of Clemson, and Jahmir Young out of Maryland.
Hall and Alexander were signed to two-way contracts, so they’ll likely play with the G-League team for most of the season, while Williams and Young signed exhibit-10 contracts, meaning they’ll battle for a roster spot or two-way deal during training camp.
These are all great low-risk flyers for the Nuggets and if one of them ends up hitting as a rotation player that would be a massive victory for the team. And if not, that’s not a problem as the team has no real commitment to any of these players.
What can Hall, Alexander, Williams, and Young bring to Denver?
Hall is a 22-year-old 6’10” big man who made first-team all-ACC as a senior at Clemson. He averaged 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with a little bit of three-point shooting juice and rim protection.
Alexander was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Oklahoma as a high school senior. At Creighton, the 6’4” combo guard made second-team all Big East last season, putting up 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Williams projects as a big 3&D wing at 6’8”, he ended his five-year college career as the winningest player in the history of Auburn basketball. Last season he averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
And Young is a 23-year-old 6’1” scoring point guard who made first-team all Big 10 in his final season at Maryland. He started his college career at Charlotte before transferring and breaking out for the Terrapins. Last season he averaged 20.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Again, odds are that none of these players will ever crack the Nuggets rotation, but crazier things have happened. If nothing else, these are four safe bets on lottery tickets with high upside. They’ll make Summer League and training camp much more exciting at the very least.