Could this local college star be the Nuggets draft pick?
Jun 7, 2022, 2:18 PM | Updated: 2:22 pm
DENVER—The Denver Nuggets have some clear needs this summer to push their roster into a championship tier.
When the Nuggets were last healthy, they went to the Western Conference Finals in 2020. They’ll need to get healthy and supplement their roster around Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon. One of Denver’s big assets is the No. 21 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Many think the Nuggets will get a defensive stopper with a knockdown shot. Preferably a rugged player who can keep up with the quickest of the league’s guards.
Could Colorado State’s David Roddy be that guy?
“I would bring a lot of versatility,” Roddy said Tuesday after a workout with the team. “Playing off Murray and Jokic is something that is very important, and I can move without the ball. I can knock down open threes and guard one through five. So I think I can just bring a lot of physicality and toughness to this team.”
Roddy measured six-foot-six, 261 pounds with a seven-foot wingspan at last month’s NBA Draft Combine. Shaped like a tight end, Roddy said he feels he would thrive as a forward playing a similar style to PJ Tucker, Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, or Grant Williams. Where those players overlap is physicality and glue.
But could the Mountain West’s Player of the Year go from a standout to a role player in just a season?
“I’m open to any role really. If I need to just get rebounds like Dennis Rodman, I’ll do it as well,” Roddy joked. “It’s a job; it’s a business. Looking at it professionally is understanding the role and embracing it as much as possible because a thousand other guys would kill to be in my position.”
Roddy went for 19 points, three assists, and eight rebounds a game in his junior season, leading the Rams to the NCAA Tournament.
“We know him intimately, we watched him several times, and he’s a fantastic player,” Nuggets General Manager Calvin Booth said. “He’s unique; he can pass, can play above the rim, can score in the post. There’s not much he can’t do on the basketball floor. So we’re excited to have him in and to get to take a look at him.”
Roddy is not the fleetest of foot and he’s projected to go in the early second round. The Nuggets select at No. 21 but don’t have a second-rounder. Roddy is also not clearly able to fill any position right away on Denver’s roster, which is wanted given they’ll be title chasing. It’s unfair to have those expectations of a second-rounder. This is why Booth hinted the Nuggets might trade up, down or out of the pick altogether. No matter what they opt to do, the Colorado-based NBA team likes the Colorado State forward.
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