# 11 - Denver Nuggets

via Dale G Young/ Detroit News

What I’d Do:

Gary Harris

6’4.5” (6’7” wingspan), 210lbs, 9/14/1994 (19 years old)

Denver’s top 3 lineups as far as minutes played involved playing Randy Foye at the Shooting Guard position.  Those three lineups totaled 774 mins this season.  The next closest was the lineup of Nate Robinson/Andre Miller/Hamilton/Arthur/Mozgov and played only 80 minutes before Miller was traded.  Denver could use a SG and at this point in the draft, they could do a lot worse than Gary Harris.

I feel as though I haven’t had a grasp of Denver’s roster for a few years now.  There just always seems to be too many pieces and the lack of defined roles is always a hindrance to development.  Don’t get me wrong, the Nuggets had a great season in 2012-13.  They were never really a contender though.  I get the impression that they won more games than their talent would indicate helped especially by an unsustainably amazing home record.  Then coach George Karl left (how is he not getting calls this off-season?) and Brian Shaw came in.  

Shaw is still trying to establish who he is as a coach and it was a struggle at some points last season for some of their players.  Kenneth Faried in particular did not seem to fit with Brian Shaw’s system or philosophy and I was afraid he was the type of player that would stall out developmentally anyway.

Injuries were a factor as well, let’s not forget that.  Javale McGee played 5 games last season.  Danilo didn’t play a game.  Even Lawson and Wilson Chandler only played 62.  You could make the argument those were Denver’s four best players going into the season.  (Or at least in Javale's case, what they needed him to be).

What the Nuggets really need is to consolidate a bit.  Turn two or three of their slightly talents pieces into a more developed and talented piece.  There’s one piece in particular I love, but we’ll get to that.  In the mean time, whether they hold on to this pick or use it in my maniacal plan I have Denver taking Gary Harris.

Harris was one of my favorite prospects in college basketball since the opening weekend where Michigan State handled Kentucky fairly well.  Compared to the freshman prospects, he seemed so much more prepared for that moment.  He’s still only 19 though.  His strength is defensively.  He’s probably one of the best defensive guards in the draft, averaged 2.2 steals per 40 minutes without getting the reputation of a gambler, and is ahead of most players his age as a weakside and team defender (coached by Tom Izzo, imagine that).  In his three match ups against Stauskas this season he wasn’t able to shut him down, but made him work extremely hard and severely limited his efficiency.  On the other hand, Stauskas wasn’t even matched up against Harris.  He couldn’t guard him.

That brings me to the other side of the ball.  Harris is a fairly polished offensive player.  He doesn’t have extreme versatility, and could struggle to create shots for himself or others.  He can shoot though.  He posted a 1.136 PPP on catch and shoot situations.  If you put him in a structured offense he will not be a liability.  20% of his total offense came off of screens last season.  

His size limits him a bit.  At 6’4.5” and without elite athleticism or a remarkable wingspan it’s his physical tools that keep him from being a mid-lottery pick.  Even Stauskas was able to take advantage of his height in their match ups.  You can’t teach up height or length.  Those things limit Harris’ ceiling a bit, but for my money his basement is Courtney Lee almost on day one as a 19 year old.  That’s not so bad.

What I Think They’ll Do:

At pick 11, Denver seems to be just outside the second tier of talent.  If any of Randle, Gordon, Vonleh, Embiid, Smart, or even Saric fall to them, they probably snatch them up.  It seems unlikely at this point, but something strange could happen.  James Young could also be a possibility here.  The more likely scenario in my mind is Harris or to trade this pick…

Crazy Draft Day Trade:

Brian Shaw wants his post presence and Greg Monroe is a restricted free agent.  Stan Van has come out in defense of keeping Monroe, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they do.  BUT, if they move him I would love to see him go to Denver.  Include Danilo to give Detroit shooting in the front court. Then you could either:

1) Include Harris who you drafted here (or trade this pick to Detroit for them to draft Harris, same outcome).  How about Jennings/Harris/Smith/Danilo/Drummond?

-OR-

2) You can keep Harris and package some pieces with Danilo: Evan Fournier and Randy Foye, maybe even JJ Hickson.  Denver also has a trade exception from the Iguodala deal.  In this scenario Denver could trot out Lawson/Harris/Chandler/Monroe/McGee.  At the very least, that moves them up the League Pass watchability ratings 5-10 spots, no?