After trading away the 56th overall pick yesterday to move up from the 28th pick and select DaRon Holmes 22nd overall, the Denver Nuggets needed to get creative with adding additional young talent to the roster through the 2024 NBA Draft.
So, it’s unsurprising that they went looking for stronger rookie free agents in this draft class and appear to have snagged some good options: Creighton guard Trey Alexander and Clemson big man PJ Hall.
From Harrison Wind over at DNVR, the Nuggets are signing Alexander and Hall, two players ranked reasonably high on big boards across the league. It sounds like the Nuggets identified Alexander and Hall as options, and both guys saw Denver as a good fit and influenced their non-selections in the draft as a result.
Alexander is a 21-year-old guard who played three years at Creighton, averaging 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game in his junior season. Alexander and Baylor Scheiermen, drafted 30th overall by the Boston Celtics, led the Creighton Blue Jays to the Sweet 16 in last season’s March Madness tournament.
Alexander was the starting point guard and made impactful plays all season, averaging an absurd 37.3 minutes per game. He carried a heavy burden and should end up being a good NBA player. He’s 6’3″ with a 6’10” wingspan and will likely be a combo guard at the next level. He’s a career 35.8% three-point shooter at the college level, but if that goes up at the NBA level, he could carve out a significant bench role eventually.
Hall is a 22-year-old senior who played all four years at Clemson, three as a starter. He and the Tigers also went deep in the NCAA Tournament, ultimately losing to Alabama in the Elite Eight. Hall played with current Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson for three of those seasons, so the Nuggets probably have a very good idea of what he can do from multiple years of scouting. He’s a bit undersized for a center at 6’8″, but with a 7’1″ wingspan and versatile scoring skills, there’s enough to be excited for.
Hall averaged 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks in his 28.9 minutes per game last year. He shot 31.5% from three, but the shot form looks good, and he’s a strong free throw shooter. With work, he will likely develop as a solid pick-and-pop and spot-up shooting threat. The bigger questions are about his defensive athleticism and ability to hold up at the NBA level, but that’s what two-way contracts are for.
Both Hall and Alexander are likely to spend significant time at the G League level, and they will be interesting to watch in Summer League as well.
It’s unclear whether Alexander or Hall will ultimately become NBA players, but there were enough draft analysts and scouts that were high on each player that Nuggets fans should feel good about these additions. Hall will be a project option, and if he’s able to hit threes and make smart plays on both ends, there’s always a role for that skill set in the NBA.
Alexander is very interesting though. He’s creative and can score with the ball in his hands, a skill set the Nuggets need sooner rather than later. With the Nuggets trading Reggie Jackson, could Alexander make an immediate push for playing time ahead of now second-year guard Jalen Pickett? The Nuggets have a void to fill behind Jamal Murray leading a second unit. Perhaps Alexander could help in that regard.
