The reports rarely stop leading up to the NBA Draft, and the Denver Nuggets are keeping busy.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line Substack, the Nuggets are considering different options with the 26th pick tonight, headlined by the possibility of selecting a guard.
Fischer relays his report here:
I believe that the Nuggets will take a guard provided they keep the No. [26] overall pick. They could elect to attach it to Zeke Nnaji’s contract in a bid to shed Nnaji’s contract, but I’ve also heard Denver connected to Duke’s Isaiah Evans and Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas.
With uncertainty in the Nuggets backcourt and guards Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tyus Jones all unrestricted free agents, the Nuggets selecting a guard would be unsurprising. Isaiah Evans is more of a 3&D wing in the mold of Hardaway as a bench scorer and shooter, while Thomas is closer to an off-the-dribble scoring guard in the mold of Lonnie Walker or Jordan Clarkson.
Both players are expected to be selected near the end of the first round, and there may be another guard who ends up falling into that range that the Nuggets also like. It’s notable that the Nuggets are seemingly showing interest in guards though. Denver needed additional ball handlers in the playoffs and expressed an interest in filling that need in the draft.
Fischer continues his report here focusing on the late stages of the first round involving some trade action:
I believe that San Antonio at No. 20, Atlanta at No. 23, New York at No. 24, and Denver at No. 26 will all be open to moving down or out of the first round altogether. Team executive I’m talking to are expecting a lot of movement in once Round 1 progresses to picks Nos. 20-to-30.
Nnaji has been at the center of rumors involving the Nuggets hoping to get off salary and free up some luxury tax relief to pay Peyton Watson his next contract. Nnaji only makes $7.5 million over each of the next two seasons though, including a player option in 2027-28. That means Denver would be using their only tradable first round pick in order to remove $15 million from their cap sheet over the next two seasons. That’s a high price to pay for such limited savings.
Perhaps the 26th pick could be utilized in another way. As it stands now though, the Nuggets are seemingly caught between drafting a backup guard and offloading the pick for salary cap relief.
We will find out which direction they end up going later tonight.