Denver Nuggets: Bol Bol could be a breakthrough championship piece

Selecting him in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, Bol Bol could be a breakthrough championship piece for the Denver Nuggets

When the 2019 NBA Draft entered the second round, Bol Bol instantly became a steal. He was a top 5 High School basketball recruit, and widely considered a lottery pick prior to sustaining a foot injury during his freshman season at Oregon.

Although, all of this promise and hype Bol Bol had prior to the draft seemed to disappear. Team after team idiotically continued to pass on the 7-foot-2 big man. Many feared his injury would be a problem. Others feared his frail frame and possible whispers of a lack of desire to play basketball.

Well, the only thing lazy about Bol Bol is the analysis on him.

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Bol Bol is the son of Manute Bol, who played in the NBA for 10 years. The elder Bol averaged 3.3 blocks per game and is 15th all-time in career blocked shots. Manute Bol was a celebrity due to his size and shot blocking ability. Manute Bol, unfortunately, passed away nine years ago.

It almost seemed like a scene from a terrible movie watching Bol Bol on draft night. No one could believe a player projected to be a lottery pick would fall almost a full round later in a two-round draft.

Bol almost seemed untouchable as he continued to fall until the Denver Nuggets traded up for him. Bol’s dropping in the draft did have a silver lining, though. The Nuggets are a team who won the second-most games in the West last season. The team has a young core built around a future MVP in Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets are also a team who selected an injured Michael Porter Jr in the lottery last season. The Nuggets effectively red-shirted Porter to help him heal and rehab. Like Bol, Michael Porter Jr. was a highly touted recruit who sustained an injury in college that hurt his draft stock.

Every team contending for a championship made a huge mistake passing on Bol. In college, Bol averaged 21 points and close to 10 rebounds per game. Even though it wasn’t a huge sample size – just nine games before the injury – he brilliance he flashed at Oregon can’t be overstated. He proved he could be a force of nature.

Bol had an offensive rating of 118.2 and a defensive rating of 86.7. Bol is a monster of a player who can dominate both sides of the floor. If he is developed correctly, and given a program to add muscle effectively to his slim frame.

One worry other than his injury was Bol’s desire to play basketball. A rumor came out right before the draft that he was not in love with the game. You could look at some of his stat lines and argue that isn’t true.

It is notoriously difficult for big men to be effective shooters. Bol, in college, shot 75 percent from the free-throw line and 52 percent from 3-point range. While playing AAU ball in California, Bol hit free throws at an 82 percent clip and 3’s at a 33 percent rate.

Now those are not numbers at the NBA level, but Bol has a base few players gifted with his size have. If he can continue to work on shot, Bol will be a mismatch nightmare for opposing teams.

As a second-round pick, Bol will have a partially guaranteed contract. Which means he is low risk roster addition. His cap hit will be under $2 million per year and the Nuggets could cut bait as quickly as next year if they felt they needed too.

Some teams even sell second-round picks for only a few million dollars. If you were a team who is talented strapped it is inexcusable that you did not at least kick the tires on Bol Bol.

Bol could be to the Nuggets what Draymond Green was/is to the Warriors – a gem found in the second round.

The looming question is, what if Bol Bol is legit? What if Bol Bol reaches his full potential?

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Bol Bol was the consensus 4th overall High School recruit. Bol has unique size and shooting abilities players dream of. If Bol Bol can return from his broken foot and fill out his frame, he could be a future All-Star in the NBA, maybe even an MVP. It might take a few years but 29 teams might end up regretting passing on Bol Bol.

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