Wait and See with Nuggets’ Draft

Adam Wagner

7-3-2012

With the 20^th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft the Nuggets selected Evan Fournier from France.

Might as well have been Evan Foreigner. 

The 19-year-old shooting guard was considered the best international prospect in this year’s crop, but in most mock drafts he was not expected to go that high in the first round.

His highlight reel is impressive enough, even if it’s just because it looks like Guy Ritchie directed it.

Denver Post columnist, Mark Kizsla, ripped the Nuggets pick, calling it a “slap in the face to made-in-America basketball.” 

Despite Kizsla’s intentions, he comes off as a basketball xenophobe, making outrageous claims trying to get attention for his column. 

Not long ago, foreign prospects like Fournier were the skinny jeans of the NBA. Five years back, Fournier may have been drafted in the top 10.  He has excellent size for a guard, listed at 6’7, a silky although inconsistent jump shot, and a slashing playmaker’s style that could translate well into the NBA. 

Nuggets fans still remember the 2002 draft when a certain 7-footer from Georgia (the country not the state) named Nikolas Tskitishvili went no. 5 overall to Denver. After averaging 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in a four year NBA career, “Skita” became the poster child for failed international prospects. 

The irony of the Nuggets draft was if they selected their second round pick, Quincy Miller, with their first pick, and Fournier with the second, few would be complaining.  Miller was a consensus top 10 high school prospect before tearing his left ACL his senior year.  He ended up having a decent freshman year at Baylor University all things considered.  He was co Big XII Freshman of the Year. 

Bottom line is the Nuggets’ roster was bloated before the draft.  They had no needs to fill.  Fournier can spend a year or two in the developmental league or stay in France if need be.

Denver coach George Karl seemed quite fine with his current roster.  He went as far to say that two of his second year players, Jordan Hamilton and Julian Stone both of whom saw limited playing time as rookies, were better than anyone the Nuggets could have selected.

“If Jordan is in this draft, he'd be in the top 10. And if Julyan goes in the draft, he'd be going right around where we pick,” Karl said.

Masai Ujiri has made all the right moves since becoming the Nuggets General Manager in 2010.  From the Carmelo Anthony trade, to the Kenneth Faried pick in last year’s draft, there is little reason to doubt his most recent effort to improve the Nuggets’ roster.