The Denver Nuggets once again struck with a sliding pick in the draft, this time snatching Bol Bol off the board by trading with the Miami Heat to pick him with the 44th overall selection.
The 7-foot-3 center, son of the legendary Manute Bol — one of the tallest players to ever play in the NBA along with Gheorghe Muresan — only was able to give scouts a nine-game display of his talent after suffering a left foot stress fracture that would end his lone season at Oregon.
His former coach, Dana Altman, disputed reports about his lack of commitment to the game, which caused him to slide from a potential lottery pick to the middle of the second round, along with the injury concerns.
“We spent six months with him and the six months he spent here at Oregon he worked his tail off,” Altman told Harrison Wind of BSN Denver. “You don’t get 21 and 10 by not playing and practicing hard.”
That number — 21 and 10 — is what Bol averaged in his short stint as a member of the Ducks, showing a mix of finesse, athleticism, and a 3-point stroke that could make him a problem at the next level.
There was plenty of smoke around Bol during pre-draft workouts and interviews, as teams that didn't like him as a prospect were hyping him up, while those who did talked him down to fellow executives.
The Nuggets had no picks in the 2019 NBA Draft and took their only stab with a high-upside big man, much like they did when selecting Michael Porter Jr. as he slid out of the top-10 in 2018.
President Tim Connelly has capitalized big in low-risk proposition, making the most of surveying the board and seeing who can yield the most promise.
Bol doesn't figure as a starter yet, but he could develop as a steady backup for franchise star Nikola Jokic, giving the Nuggets an added dimension to an already sound bench.
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