In SB Nation's latest 2011 NBA Mock Draft, the Denver Nuggets use their No. 22 selection on Providence shooting guard Marshon Brooks:
Brooks is a riser, but gunners never rise too much. This seems like the appropriate range.
Before the NBA Draft combine last week, Brooks was a fringe end-of-the-first-round, solid second round pick, but now the talent evaluators are rethinking his NBA potential. A senior shooting guard (6-foot-5, 195 pounds), Brooks really stepped up his game with the Friars in 2010-11. He averaged 24.6 points per game and did that on 48.3 percent shooting.
According to ESPN Insider, NBA teams may be discounting Brooks because he is a 22-year-old senior and Providence played poorly this past season. Still, teams like his ability to score and are impressed by his 7-foot-1 wing span.
DraftExpress' latest mock draft has Brooks going No. 28 overall to the Chicago Bulls, while the Nuggets take Boston College's Reggie Jackson, a point guard who comes from Colorado Springs. Jackson could be the long-term backup to Ty Lawson if Raymond Felton leaves after next season.
If the Nuggets decide to pass on bringing back J.R. Smith, Brooks appears to be a suitable replacement and not "difficult" player like Smith has been.