SB Nation Denver - 2011 NBA Draft: Denver Nuggets Ready For Thursday Night

2011 NBA Mock Draft: Alec Burks To Phoenix, Tobias Harris To Nuggets

2011-06-23T18:01:49Z

While some mock drafts have Colorado Buffaloes guard Alec Burks dropping out of the lottery and somewhere closer to where the Denver Nuggets will select, Tom Ziller released his latest 2011 NBA mock draft at SB Nation and Burks is still a lottery selection. The guard goes at No. 13 overall to the Phoenix Suns. But Ziller does mention that the Sacramento Kings at No. 7 could also be a possibility.

As for the Nuggets, Ziller goes back to Tennessee forward Tobias Harris after moving to Richmond's Justin Harper earlier in the week. Texas forward Jordan Hamilton and Morehead State forward Kenneth Faried both go a few picks ahead of the Nuggets, but that just means they could still be around when the Nuggets are on the clock.

For more on the NBA Draft, visit SB Nation's 2011 NBA Draft Hub. For more on what the Nuggets will do, visit Denver Stiffs.

NBA Draft 2011: Alec Burks Slipping In DraftExpress, Chad Ford Mock Drafts

2011-06-23T15:01:27Z

Colorado Buffaloes guard Alec Burks is sliding down in mock drafts just hours before the 2011 NBA Draft. How far down has he fallen? He's usually been projected in the 10-15 range, a player to be selected at the end of the lottery or just outside of it. The Milwaukee Bucks at No. 10 have been a popular selection, but now it appears that other players have moved ahead of him.

According to DraftExpress' mock draft for Yahoo! Sports, Burks could fall all the way down to No. 19 for the Charlotte Bobcats because Marshon Brooks, Jimmer Fredette and Chris Singleton have made those late charges up draft boards. Chad Ford's latest ESPN Insider mock draft also has Brooks dropping in the draft, snatched up by the Washington Wizards at No. 18.

Both of those mock drafts have the Denver Nuggets selecting Tennessee forward Tobias Harris with the No. 22 pick, but if Burks drops out of the lottery might the Nuggets try to move up for the in-state guard? He would be able to make up for the projected loss of J.R. Smith, and given time to develop his shooting Burks could turn into a big-time player for his home state team.

NBA Trade Rumors: Denver Nuggets Explore All Possibilities, As All Teams Do

2011-06-23T14:30:32Z

If the Denver Nuggets do make a trade during Thursday's 2011 NBA Draft, point guard Raymond Felton is the likely candidate to switch teams. Ty Lawson is firmly entrenched as the team's starting point guard, and Felton wants to be a starter. But Felton still has one year left on his contract and it seems he'll bolt after the season. Keeping him may provide the Nuggets with a better trade chip during the season.

As Masai Ujiri recently told the Denver Post:

"We're not in a hurry to do anything (in regards to a trade). And as much as teams call about our players, we call about other players, you have to do that. That's our job. The draft gives you different looks. . . . Instinctively, you have to see what's best for your team."

We saw something similar to this with the Denver Broncos back in April. Executive VP John Elway brought in a number of quarterbacks, fueling speculation that he wanted to draft a quarterback. Now in slightly different circumstances, the Nuggets have a player they could trade to several teams in the lottery.

If the Nuggets do trade into the 5-10 range of the lottery, Chris Dempsey believes the Nuggets could be looking for a guard like BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Colorado's Alec Burks or Washington State's Klay Thompson. But if they want to go big, Bismack Biyombo, Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris would be the targets. Burks would be a great homestate addition, but Leonard may fill the biggest need for the Nuggets in the front court.

NBA Mock Draft 2011: Markieff Morris Goes To Nuggets In SB Nation Bloggers' Mock

2011-06-23T13:11:23Z

In addition to Tom Ziller's mock drafts over at SB Nation, a bloggers' mock draft was held over the last few days. Andrew Feinstein of Denver Stiffs selected for the Nuggets and he selected a player rarely attached to the team in other mock drafts, Kansas forward Markieff Morris:

Even though all the "power" forwards the Nuggets are hoping to draft at No. 22 (like Chris Singleton, Kenneth Faried and Tobias Harris) have been drafted before the Nuggets' slot, my esteemed colleagues at SB Nation somehow managed to miss on Markieff Morris, the lesser talented but bigger of the two Morris twins.

Feinstein took Morris because he played at a major college program for several years, and looking at history those types of players are the ones who have an impact, even just as a backup, right away. And he's right that even if Kenyon Martin is brought back the team still needs to address the power forward position. There's no way to tell how long Martin will last.

Better to choose Morris for the present and the future than a European who may never even make it to the States, right? That's Feinstein's mantra with this pick, and the correct one at that.

NBA Mock Draft 2011: Justin Harper To Nuggets In Latest SB Nation Mock

2011-06-22T14:07:29Z

The 2011 NBA Draft is just a day away and Tom Ziller of SB Nation has released his latest NBA mock draft (one more is coming on Thursday). This late in the mock draft process, it's nice to see a new name emerge, though how realistic it is one cannot know for sure. Ziller goes with Richmond's Justin Harper:

22. Denver Nuggets: Justin Harper, F, Richmond

Underrated storyline/fear heading into the offseason: the Nuggets might be forced to start Timofey Mozgov and Chris Andersen on opening night. Nene and Kenyon Martin are free agents, and Derrick Favors isn't walking through that door.

Ziller certainly hits a point here about having Andersen and Mozgov starting opening night, but is Harper good value here? In his previous mock earlier in the week, Ziller had Harper got at No. 27 to the New Jersey Nets, and Chad Ford's ESPN Insider mock has Harper off the board at No. 28 to the Chicago Bulls. Jumping up five to six spots is a tall order, but if that's how a team rates a player that's what happens: drafting him where they are, despite other evaluators holding a lower value on the player.

The NBA Draft begins at 5 p.m. MT on Thursday, June 23.

NBA Trade Rumors: Spurs Reportedly Looking To Deal Tony Parker, Where Does That Leave Nuggets' Raymond Felton?

2011-06-22T01:37:12Z

The San Antonio Spurs appear determined to move into the lottery of the 2011 NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 23. According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs have contacted teams in the lottery, though he is only able to mention the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings. Those are pretty high draft picks, fifth and seventh, respectively, so the Spurs would need to give up someone of pretty good value to move up that high.

Apparently, point guard Tony Parker is the player the Spurs want to move. The Kings have already discussed the availability of Denver Nuggets point guard Raymond Felton. The Spurs would be able to obtain a starter at the point in Felton, while the Nuggets would have a backup point guard who would like to start and would most likely bolt as a free agent after the upcoming season. Ty Lawson is the current and future star of the Nuggets' back court, and Felton has no place there, really.

If the Spurs do pull off a Parker-for-lottery pick trade, this draft will be a whole lot more interesting.

Memo To NBA Draft Prospects: You Should Know The Coach's Name You Just Worked Out With

2011-06-21T20:04:31Z

The 2011 NBA Draft is just around the corner on June 23, and while players workout with different teams while being in a different city multiple times a week, it would behoove a prospect to know the coaches name when the media asks them about the coach they just went through a work out with.

Well, that exact thing happened to former Colorado Buffalo Alec Burks when he worked out for the Utah Jazz. During Burks post-workout interview with the media he was asked about Utah Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin and Burks responded with a "who" and then Jody Genessy of the Deseret News helped him out by saying "the head coach."

That had to be a bit awkward for Burks, and he then went on and provided the typical nice words about how coach Corbin was a great guy. Yes, he should have known the head coaches name, but in the long run it will not deter a team from passing on Burks because of this.

As for his actual workout Burks felt he did a good job and wanted to show the Jazz that he can hit the NBA three-point shot. Burks also has been invited to the NBA Darft and with that invitation he believes he will be a top-14 pick.

NBA Mock Draft 2011: Chad Ford Predictable, Has Tobias Harris To Nuggets In Latest Mock

2011-06-21T17:02:12Z

The 2011 NBA Draft is only two days away and ESPN's Chad Ford has released a two-round mock draft ahead of the real thing. However, the Denver Nuggets don't have a second-round draft pick currently since it was sent to the Detroit Pistons back in 2009 in the trade for Arron Afflalo.

Following Ford's mock drafts each week, it has become apparent that he likes Tennessee forward Tobias Harris to the Nuggets at No. 22, and in this week's edition it doesn't change. Here's what Ford has to say about Harris:

Analysis: Harris may be one of the more underrated players in the draft. He can play both the 3 and 4, and he has a very high basketball IQ and an NBA body. Harris doesn't do any one thing at an elite level, but he is one of the most well-rounded players in the draft.

Iman Shumpert, Chandler Parsons and Tyler Honeycutt are other possibilities here.

Either Ford has some inside knowledge that he is disclosing or he he's conjecturing on everything here. Probably the latter, though we know some team is going to miss the layup when selecting and cause havoc down draft boards.