NBA Draft
Denver Nuggets Select Doug McDermott At No. 11
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Denver Nuggets (36-46) missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2004 campaign this past season and enter the summer with numerous question marks. The team tinkered with numerous rotations in head coach Brian Shaw’s first season at the helm but also saw the team stumble in standings due to a rash of injuries.
With the eleventh overall pick of the 2014 draft, the Nuggets selected forward Doug McDermott from Creighton University.
The Nuggets have boasted a plethora of high scoring small forwards on their roster over the past decade and the selection of McDermott solidifies a potential need for the franchise. Danilo Gallinari missed all of the 2013-14 season recovering from a torn ACL and Wilson Chandler’s contract is non-guaranteed after the upcoming season.
McDermott is the most decorated player in this year’s draft class, scoring over 3,100 points during his collegiate career, but there are questions on whether his game will translate successfully to the professional ranks.
UPDATE: McDermott has reportedly been traded to Chicago in exchange for the Bulls’ No. 16 (Jusuf Nurkic) and No. 19 (Gary Harris) picks. The Nuggets trade down in a talent rich draft in order to acquire more assets, while the Bulls were able to shed some salary obligations and secure much needed outside shooting to their roster.
