Denver Nuggets: Why the Nuggets have one of the NBA’s best front offices
By Austin Payne
Why the Denver Nuggets should be considered one of the NBA’s best front offices
So, how many quality decisions will this Denver Nuggets front office make? From drafting a prospect like Nikola Jokic that nobody thought anything of, picking up Will Barton, Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris, not to mention Monte Morris and Malik Beasley.
So, now what do they do? After having to give up their late first-rounder in order to shed Kenneth Faried’s contract, they still managed to get a first-round talent in the draft.
The Nuggets traded a future second-rounder and some cash to Miami in exchange for the pick that became Bol Bol, son of Manute Bol and a controversial talent in this year’s draft class. Bol is a player you watch play and say this guy is either going to be insanely good or a colossal bust because that just doesn’t work.
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There’s a lot of upside associated with Bol’s game; not only is he a mobile center but he’s a mobile 7-foot-2 center with shot-blocking ability…and 3 point range…and a little handle…and some passing…and…yeah. Let’s not make like there are no concerns though because they exist and they’re prevalent.
Durability is an obvious concern with him due to height alone, as you don’t see many men be athletic for long at such unnatural heights. On top of that, he was injured at Oregon this year, and he’s also extremely lean at only 208 pounds. Think about this, most 6-foot-6 small forwards will outweigh him, and he’s a 7-foot-2 center. That being said everyone’s body and DNA are built differently, so there’s no way to effectively estimate his durability or NBA lifespan.
The beauty of it though is that it doesn’t quite matter. The Nuggets are in a position where they can afford to pick high-risk high-reward players, as long as it isn’t detrimental to the chemistry or “locker room” so to speak. Bol has some intuition and perspective about him especially after having fallen so far in the draft, which may in turn actually make him better in the long run.
In light of taking a falling prospect with great potential, let’s not forget about just last season when they were able to grab Michael Porter Jr. later in the first round due to injury concerns. To be fair, there are still injury concerns considering we just heard Porter was experiencing some drop foot as a repercussion of his previous injury.
Nevertheless, the team needs neither of the two at this moment considering all of the young talent mixed with quality vets they have available. If these two become what they could though, watch out.
Going into next season I see no reason as to why we shouldn’t be considering this team the one at the top of the food chain in the Western Conference. Fresh off of taking two teams seven games and like 10 overtimes, they proved to be a tough opponent even against two of the grittiest teams in the league.
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Having made the playoffs and endured all that adversity in the first year will only sharpen their intellect. Pair that with the potential stored in this roster and the very competent management, you have the perfect combination. The Denver Nuggets might be a lock for the Western Conference Finals next season, at minimum.