When Tim Connelly first stepped up to the microphone after the 2016 NBA Draft came to a close, he had the look of a man who had just survived a hard-fought battle. The Denver Nuggets came into the draft and addressed their biggest need by drafting their highest-ranked prospect, outside of Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons, without having to trade up and give up any type of assets.
Jamal Murray was Tim Connelly’s guy, and he selected him with the seventh pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
The Nuggets finally have their volume scorer, with in-the-gym range, to pair with last year’s seventh selection, Emmanuel Mudiay.
Not only did Murray fall to them, but they somehow found themselves with a plethora of high-level prospects at picks 15 and 19. All of the talk of the Nuggets potentially packaging together multiple picks was thrown out the window, and the Nuggets came away with Juancho Hernangomez at 15 and Malik Beasley at 19. Both players could have gone higher in the draft and have been favorites of Tim Connelly and the Nuggets for some time now.
Here’s what Connelly had to say following the Nuggets’ successful night:
On how the night went:
“We are extremely excited about what happened this evening. We got our top-ranked guy that we could conceivably get in Jamal. His ability to play both guard positions — his shot making certainly was a huge need — and I think you won’t find a harder working guy. He fits the mold of the type of players we’re trying to bring to Denver.”
On the starting shooting guard job:
“It is Gary’s job. I certainly hope Jamal does everything he does to potentially take his job. Gary is our starting two guard. He’s been fantastic. He has lived in the gym this summer. Gary is up to 220 pounds … This is an addition to an already strong back court”
On Hernangomez:
“Two position guy. Modern-day stretch four who can slide over and defend threes … Another high IQ guy and a tireless worker. We look forward to having him in the fold … We liked Juancho’s productivity at the ACB level. We like his pedigree. We think his work ethic stands out. He is a very difficult guy to find, those 6-foot-9 or 6-foot-10 [guys] who can defend stretch fours, can switch the four-three pick and roll, can make a shot, rebounds. He’s not a ball dominant guy.”
On grabbing Beasley at No. 19:
“We just thought Malik just had too much talent to pass up … Elite athlete, shot maker. Again, lives in the gym guy. He’s a down-the-road pick. We will slowly develop him. Not put too much pressure on him. We were shocked he was there at 19.”
On how pre-draft workouts affect his decision making:
“I think very little. We took Jamal and we were unable to get him in. It has become a theme for us. Emmanuel we were not able to get in. The reality is this process has become a bit tricky, very agent driven, so we don’t want to hold anything against the kids because of some decision an agent makes.”
Overall the Nuggets had one of the more sneaky fantastic drafts to date. They gave themselves flexibility to stash Heranagomez for a year, added some elite shooting and added elite athletic ability. This was a big step forward for the Nuggets.