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The Denver Nuggets 2023 playoff run was nothing short of magical. Heading into the postseason, many folks wrote off the Nuggets and didn't consider them a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship. But fast forward to the current day, and it's clear that the Nuggets proved their doubters wrong.
The Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one, the Phoenix Suns in round two, the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals to secure the franchise's first NBA title. Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets and put together a historic individual run in the playoffs, as he averaged 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game across 20 postseason games.
But with the 2023 NBA Draft just one day away, the Denver Nuggets decided to make a trade. The Nuggets dealt a 2024 first-round pick plus the 40th overall pick to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for the 29th and 32nd picks. Denver will now have three top-40 picks in Thursday's draft at 29, 32, and 37.
There are plenty of players who project to fall in the pick-29 range who could make an impact with the Nuggets, but there are also players in this range that they should avoid. With all of that said, let's look at two players the Nuggets must avoid with the 29th overall pick in the NBA Draft after their trade with the Pacers:
2 players Nuggets must avoid with No. 29 pick in 2023 NBA Draft after trade with Pacers
Trayce Jackson-Davis
A 6'9″ forward, Trayce Jackson-Davis starred on the offensive end of the floor in his senior season with the Indiana Hoosiers. He averaged 20.9 points (on 58.1% shooting from the field), 2.8 offensive rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game across 32 appearances. But for all the good that Jackson-Davis does on the offensive end, there's one very glaring hole in his offensive arsenal that should keep the Nuggets from drafting him at 29th.
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To put it bluntly, Jackson-Davis was a non-threat to score from behind the three-point line during his four years with the Hoosiers. He attempted just three threes in his entire tenure there, including zero in his senior year. At this point, it's hard to believe that Jackson-Davis will evolve into a good three-point shooter at the NBA level, or even an average one, for that matter. Because of Jackson-Davis' inability to score the ball from behind the three-point arc, the Nuggets would be better off selecting someone else with their first-round draft pick.
Nick Smith
The Denver Nuggets have a great starting backcourt of Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which provides a healthy blend of offensive and defensive firepower. The Nuggets are a little short on depth at the guard spot, though, aside from Christian Braun. But if the Nuggets draft a guard with their 29th pick, it shouldn't be Arkansas' Nick Smith.
Smith functioned as a very inefficient score-first guard in his single season at Arkansas. He scored 12.5 points per game but shot just 37.6% from the field and 39.7% from inside the three-point line.
It's unclear at this juncture who the Denver Nuggets will draft with the 29th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which they recently acquired in a trade with the Indiana Pacers. But what is abundantly clear is that the Nuggets should avoid drafting Indiana Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis or Arkansas Razorbacks guard Nick Smith.
