No. 7 pick: Denver Nuggets
Denver might want a proven NBA power forward over either Dragan Bender or Jakob Poeltl who are two of their projected picks at No. 7 and they still can get another power forward at the 14th pick. The Nuggets have the seventh, the 15th and the 19th picks on Thursday night.
An aging frontline and backcourt depth are their roster needs, so a deal with the Bulls can still net them Henry Ellenson if he slides to 14th, or potentially grab anyone from Deyonta Davis to Cheick Diallo earlier than expected.
With their 15th pick still in hand, they can grab a combo guard–Denver draft workouts point to the Nuggets possibly gunning for Euro-wings in Luwawu and Korkmaz. (That’s unless they like Marquese Chriss as their crowd-drawing project developing alongside point guard of their future, Emmanuel Mudiay, which means the Bulls must go higher than No. 7.)
Also, the Nuggets have the 19th pick, which allows them to pick another player that can make a draft swap-trade more attractive if they feel the middle picks can still net them what they need for the team.
Besides Chriss, valuable prospects like Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray or even high-risk, high-rewards guys like Skal Labissiere and Dejounte Murray may convince the Nuggets to keep their best pick.
Next: No. 6 pick: New Orleans Pelicans