We’re now less than a day away from the start of the 2016 NBA Draft, and the excitement is palpable. After half the league seemingly swapped point guards on Wednesday afternoon, this looks to be one of the most active draft days in a long time, and the Nuggets are reportedly searching for a trade more than just about anyone in the league.
That being said, there’s a fairly high probability that the Nuggets don’t end up using one or both of their 15th- and 19th-overall selections in their first round, as they could become valuable trade commodities.
But if they do decide to stay chalk and use all three of their first-round picks, here are five guys they could consider at the mid-point of the first round:
Timothè Luwawu, Mega Leks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFd1PmYpomA
Age: 21 years old Size: 6’7, 205 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 14.6 points; 4.8 rebounds; 2.8 assists per game
Percentages: 39.8% from the field; 37.2% from three-point; 69% from the free throw line
Timothe Luwawu is the most underrated player in this draft. Yes, he has been skyrocketing up draft boards and many big-time draft scouts love him, but when it comes to who these prospects will be in five years, you have to be excited about Luwawu. He may have the best ratio of highest upside with the highest floor when talking about his game.
Being a prototypical size of an NBA wing at 6-foot-7 and sporting an engulfing seven-foot wingspan, the physical tools are there. Luwawu also has wonderful skills as a leaper. He can finish high above the rim and dunk with pure ferocity off of both feet or one, left or right. He is defensive minded and uses every last bit of his physical gifts to cause chaos on that end of the floor. He has the quickness and length to guard three positions immediately and could develop more strength to potentially guard four different spots.
He acted as the primary ball-handler quite often in his time with Nikola Jokic’s former team, Mega Leks. Being given the responsibility to run the offense for stretches did wonders for Luwawu’s development. Being able to run the pick and roll efficiently from the off-guard positon gives the Nuggets yet another playmaker on the floor. He still has some issues handling the ball but has the tools to develop that aspect of his game. He did shoot solid from beyond the three-point arc and will fit well next to Emmanuel Mudiay in time.
All in all, there is not a much better fit for a Nuggets team that lacks perimeter defense, perimeter scoring and athletic ability. Odds are he ends up getting taken slightly higher than 15, but if available, he would be a beautiful fit in the Mile High City.
Skal Labissiere, Kentucky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF_cWYmUZVw
Age: 18 years old Size: 7 foot, 215 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 6.6 points; 3.1 rebounds; 0.3 assists per game
Percentages: 51.8% from the field; N/A from three-point; 66.1% from the free throw line
Oh how frustrating Skal Labissiere makes scouting. For every magnificent highflying dunk, there is a clip of him getting out-muscled by a guard for a rebound. For every perfect perimeter lockdown defensive possession is another example of how completely lost he is on a basketball court. He’s a walking contradiction, and it all comes down to which Skal Labissiere the Nuggets see.
Labissiere’s potential is unquestioned. He has a beautiful shooting stroke that he can use anywhere from a face-up post game, stretching out to the three-point line. His feet are so crisp you would think he was dancing. His athletic ability is effortless, and his physical tools are elite, which, in conjunction, allows him to sprint past slower frontcourt players in transition and finish way above the rim with an obscene amount of power. Given his quick feet and immense length, he has the ability to switch onto smaller, quicker players and still keep containment while being able to float above the rim and block shots from anywhere. He is quick off of his feet and possesses body control rarely seen in a player of his size.
While all of those positives to his game are almost unfathomable, so are his negatives. Labissiere has only played competitive basketball for around four years, which leaves a monumental gap in his development. His court awareness is despicable. Skal averages 7.6 fouls per 40 minutes. He has no idea how to make the extra pass or how to even get into a stance to defend on the perimeter. Ball watching, biting on fakes, opening up his hips and getting blown by, driving into mismatches, and just blatantly not knowing his role on the court are all neon signs screaming about how bad his understanding is when it comes to basketball as a whole.
Wherever Labissiere ends up, we’ll have to be prepared for a four-year project. He is far from ready and cannot contribute at an average level until he learns to play the game on a fundamental level. Taking him at 19 is not nearly as scary as taking him at 15, and if he becomes the monster that is hiding inside of him, he will most likely be the best value pick of this draft. The 2016 NBA Draft Lottery Ticket this year is Skal Labissiere.
Taurean Prince, Baylor
Age: 21 years old Size: 6’8, 220 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 15.7 points; 6.0 rebounds; 2.3 assists per game
Percentages: 43.2% from the field; 36.2% three-point; 77.4% form the free throw line
Taurean Prince is the type of player every contending team needs on their roster. He will never be a first-, second- or even a third-scoring option on a good team, but Prince does all of the things that box scores do not show. He scraps and plays a gritty variety of basketball.
In this new day and age of position-less basketball, finding wings that can defend multiple positions and still have offensive versatility is one of the most difficult type of skillsets to find. Having a player who can get into a stance and have the physical tools to match up with guards and forwards anywhere on the court allows for a lot of different possibilities on both ends. Prince will be able to defend positions 2-4, as well as play as a larger defensive-minded shooting guard or even in short stints as a small-ball power forward, even though he is a true small forward.
Prince has a fantastic body for an NBA wing, being 6-foot-8 with a massive 6-foot-11.5 wingspan. He is strong and wide with fantastically quick feet and a surprising amount of bounce, especially in transition. His game fits the new age of the NBA. He is able to score in many different ways. Prince uses his size and strength to bully smaller defenders in the post but also uses his obnoxiously quick feet and leaping ability to make off ball cuts to score. He gets out in transition and will finish above the rim in space.
When it comes to Prince’s fit with the Nuggets, he checks off a lot of boxes. The Nuggets are in need of defensive intensity on the perimeter as well as someone who can space the floor. He would be great insurance in case the oft-injured forwards of the Nuggets again miss time. He is a tireless worker and would bring the ability to turn defense into offense immediately. He does have some questionable decision making sometimes and will have trouble creating for himself at the NBA level, but Prince brings the ability to come in from day one and make a difference. If the Nuggets ended up with Prince with the 19th pick in the draft, he may end up as one of the better value selections of the entire class.
Furkan Korkmaz, Anadolu Efes
Age: 18 years old Size: 6’7, 175 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 2.7 points; 0.9 rebounds; 0.5 assists per game
Percentages: 39.1% from the field; 42.3% from three-point; 57.1% from the free throw line
The Nuggets had Furkan Korkmaz in for a pre-draft workout and impressed the media quite a bit in his interview. He apparently struggled during his workout but after flying international just three days before and having two workouts prior is enough to give him a pass.
When talking about high upside picks in the later teens of the 2016 NBA Draft, the conversation always includes Korkmaz. He has shown the ability to light it up from three-point range, being a career 44 percent three-point shooter between his time with the Turkish National team and his time in the Euroleague. He is already comfortable being a primary ball-handler in the pick and roll, using his length and height to pass the ball from different angles, as well as use his pull-up jumper in space. Korkmaz has the ability to float as well. He is as springy and athletic as prospects come. When watching him play, he is a lot like Zach LaVine when he came out of college, except Korkmaz is a much better shooter.
Also like LaVine, Korkmaz is unnaturally thin. Being only 175 pounds on a 6-foot-7 frame seems almost impossible. He has been very outspoken on his issues with his weight, and he is working towards packing on more muscle.
When Korkmaz was talking with the Denver media, he was very transparent on his weaknesses:
“I need to improve my weaknesses. For example, my body. I am so skinny,” Korkmaz said. “I know that. Basketball is not just body. You have to be smart. You have to be clever. First I’d say my body, [and] I need to improve and my defensive ability.”
Considering that Korkmaz is the second-youngest player in the draft and he already has a mindset of a winner, as seen above, there is a lot to like. Not only is he young, but he also has already gained a large chunk of experience being that he has played 70 games and over 900 minutes between Euroleague and the Turkish National team. He will struggle defensively at first because of his slender frame, but he also seems to provide a lot of different positives and only a few negatives, most of which can be worked out over time.
Furkan Korkmaz should be the guy the Nuggets are praying falls to them at 19. If available it is almost a sure-fire selection for the Nuggets.
Wade Baldwin, Vanderbilt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mDMcyVhDps
Age: 20 years old Size: 6’4, 202 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 14.1 points; 4.0 rebounds; 5.2 assists per game
Percentages: 42.7% from the field; 40.6% from three-point; 79.9% from the free throw line
Wade Baldwin is one of the more difficult prospects to estimate. His physical tools are off of the charts. 6-foot-4 and 202 pounds as a point guard is epic, but to add in a wingspan of 6-foot-11 is borderline unthinkable. To put this into perspective, Ben Simmons, the projected first pick in the draft, has a wingspan that is only an inch longer as a power forward. Baldwin is long, stocky and quick, but is that enough to make him an NBA-level talent?
For as long and strong as Baldwin is, he is awful at converting at the rim. Shooting a lowly 38.2 percent is the opposite of ideal for a guard of his size. Another curious aspect of his game is how bad he is in the pick and roll. Physically, he has all of the tools to be un-guardable in the pick and roll, but he tends to get lazy or force the issue too much to the tune of a meager 0.71 points per possession on pick-and-roll plays and an equally bad turnover percentage of 20 percent. He tends to drive into walls of defenders and loses focus on the defensive end. Baldwin did hit 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts at Vanderbilt but is a much more streaky shooter then a consistent threat from downtown.
The Nuggets do need a backup point guard and all of that length is hard to ignore. He fits the defensive mold that Malone is trying to instill in the Nuggets, but the more and more film that is seen on Wade Baldwin, the more that the common consensus is that he has more issues than length. Baldwin will be a longer-term project then many think. As an upside pick with the 19th selection he fits well but anything below the 15th pick is a stretch.