We will learn plenty about what the Nuggets truly think of themselves during the NBA draft tonight.
The view on the outside is clear.
Their NBA peers believe that the Nuggets next season without a single addition would be a returning playoff team. That with small tinkering they could improve from playoff slot No. 8 anywhere up to No. 5. That with precise draft selections/free agent signings/trades they could nab a top- four playoff position.
“There has to be a temptation there not to do a lot because they had an unreal run the second half with George Karl coaching and what it could be like with him in place for a full camp and season,” an assistant coach from a Western Conference playoff team said. “It is hard to imagine they would change anything about their first four spots: (Marcus) Camby, (Kenyon) Martin, (Carmelo) Anthony and (Andre) Miller.
“It is also hard to imagine they will go another year without a consistent shooter to complement that quartet.”
So much is intertwined with the Nuggets’ draft decisions – Voshon Lenard’s health, the final free-agent pickings, tricky trade values and delayed benefits from dipping into the international market. The Nuggets, however, must be bold. They must devise an encompassing, no matter how circuitous, plan that brings them a courageous and consistent sharpshooter – or two.
When their season ended, the Nuggets began talking about the draft as if it were simply an exercise for the future. With picks 20, 22 and 52, the Nuggets were saying it was unrealistic to believe they could draft a player who could help them this season. That was dead wrong. And quite squirmish.
Lately the Nuggets have accepted that there are players, especially at 20 and 22 in this draft, who can play now and help now. That their job in the draft is to correctly identify and select.
This is a good sign the Nuggets are accepting who they are, a team and franchise ready to bash elbows with the elite. That they are ready to step into this draft and the next season with some heart and guts.
The early trepidation is understandable. General manager Kiki Vandeweghe has been much better at making deals for players rather than choosing them in the draft. But Vandeweghe teaming with Karl should change that.
Dallas two seasons ago found forward Josh Howard with the No. 29 pick. Boston chose guard Delonte West at No. 24 last year and West will be a splendid pro. San Antonio picked 28th a year ago and uncovered guard Beno Udrih, and Udrih played an integral role in the Spurs’ championship season.
The strengths of the Nuggets are their sizable, flexible, mobile front line and their up-tempo pace that creates fast-break points, easy baskets and open 3s.
Battling the Spurs in the playoffs exposed their inability to shoot those 3s in half-court settings against irritable defense.
Since the Spurs are champs, their model must be scrutinized. If the Nuggets can develop one or more of their front- line players as a force in the paint who must be double-
teamed, if their guards can create consistent, nasty dribble penetration, the perimeter will be opened in half-court settings for 3s.
And do not underestimate the renewed value of 3-point shooting in the NBA.
In the Finals, Detroit made more field goals than San Antonio, a margin of 248-216. San Antonio barely won at the free-throw line, 111 points to 93. But in 3-point field goals made? It was San Antonio 51, Detroit 18.
That, folks, was the series.
And that is an element the Nuggets must work to perfect in their half-court offense.
The Nuggets brought in 53 players for workouts at the Pepsi Center before this draft. They traveled to predraft camps in Portsmouth, Va., Chicago and Italy. Unlike Cleveland and Minnesota, which have been unsettled in leadership, the Nuggets have had a cohesive, piercing look at this draft.
If the Nuggets get the marksman they need by grabbing Allan Houston if the Knicks cut him loose, fine.
If they do it via the international scene or by sticking with Lenard, kudos.
If it is the draft, I would take Julius Hodge from North Carolina State. He can play point guard and forward, and he can drive and he can shoot. He would fit perfectly in the Nuggets’ scheme.
And he will be a sterling pro.
What do the Nuggets truly think of themselves? Some answers unfold in a few hours.
Staff writer Thomas Georgecan be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
