The Denver Nuggets held predraft workouts on Wednesday for six players they would likely pursue in the 2011 NBA Draft. But as Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post points out, those players may not be available when the Nuggets are on the clock at No. 22. Those players are: Morehead State's Kenneth Faried, Tennessee's Tobias Harris, Washington State's Klay Thompson, UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt, Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and Nigeria's "Chu Chu" Maduabum. The first four are the best bets to go before No. 22.
Faried and Harris have been connected to the Nuggets in several mock drafts already and both would fill a need up front for the Nuggets, though Faried is basically going to be on the court for his rebounding ability. Harris is young and could use some development time. Honeycutt would give the Nuggets a wing player. Thompson can play as a 2-guard or small forward and is being discussed as a lottery pick.
In SB Nation's latest 2011 Mock Draft, Thompson goes to Phoenix at No. 13. Harris and Honeycutt go toward the end of the first round, while Faried is the Knicks' selection at No. 17. Over at DraftExpress, Thompson goes two picks higher at No. 11 to the Warriors. Harris and Faried find themselves off the board at Nos. 18 and 20, respectively. Honeycutt goes one pick after the Nuggets at No. 23.
As with the rules for any sports draft, nothing is going to go as predicted.