How will Emmanuel Mudiay, Danilo Gallinari and the Denver Nuggets do in 2016-17?
Here are our player scouting reports and analysis.
Projected starters
Emmanuel Mudiay
Position: Guard
Experience: 1 year
Age: 20
Scouting report
+ Physical, aggressive point guard with potential
+ Reduced mistakes and improved shot during rookie season
+ Makes high-value passes when he draws defense
Analysis
Mudiay began his first NBA season as a leading contender for Rookie of the Year, but his candidacy was undone by a spate of turnovers and missed shots early in the campaign. When he was sidelined by a sprained deltoid in December, Mudiay had averaged 4 turnovers per game and shot 31 percent from the field. He showed growth after returning, however, and post-All-Star Mudiay improved his true shooting percentage from .407 to .477 while also slashing his turnover rate.
Playing most of his rookie season at age 19 (he turned 20 in February), Mudiay brought polarizing strengths and weaknesses. He has court vision beyond his years and likes to throw high-value passes. Based on data from NBAminer.com, 47.2 percent of Mudiay's assists set up either layups or dunks, the third-highest percentage among players who averaged at least five assists per game behind Stephen Curry (49.5 percent) and James Harden (47.5 percent). Though the Nuggets didn't really have the shooters to take advantage, Mudiay also did well at finding teammates for corner 3s, and he has the ability to beat defenders off the dribble to set up these opportunities.
At the same time, Mudiay frequently called his own number, using 25.7 percent of Denver's plays. The results there were not as good, as even after the All-Star break, Mudiay was one of the league's most inefficient scorers. He improved his 3-point shooting over the course of the year, becoming more consistent with his release, and shot 36.4 percent on 3s after the break as compared to 27.2 percent before. More surprisingly, Mudiay struggled as a finisher. He shot just 47.5 percent inside three feet, per Basketball-Reference.com, and must develop the ability to finish over, around and through NBA-caliber rim protection. How Mudiay's finishing improves will be key to his progress in Year 2.
At 6-foot-5 with long arms, Mudiay has all the tools to be a plus defender. He showed promise at times, though was also vulnerable to falling asleep off the ball and surrendering backdoor cuts. Mudiay's size enabled the Nuggets to have him defend shooting guards when he played with another ball handler, and he'll be able to cross-match defensively with teammates Gary Harris and Jamal Murray.
Gary Harris
Position: Guard
Experience: 2 years
Age: 22
Scouting report
+ Emerged as quality 3-and-D starter during second campaign
+ Capable outside shooter who is also effective inside arc
+ Good defender who thrives when matched up on point guards
Analysis
One of the league's worst players in limited action as a rookie, Harris took an enormous leap forward in Year 2, establishing himself as a starting shooting guard. Even with Denver drafting two shooting guards in the first round this June, Harris remains the first option alongside Mudiay.
After shooting just 20.4 percent from 3-point range in 2014-15, Harris showed the shooting skill that made him a first-round pick, shooting 35.4 percent last season. He has the potential to do even better than that in time. But Harris is more than just a spot-up shooter on offense. He's a capable secondary ball handler who can run pick-and-rolls and create off the dribble. He proved exceptionally accurate last season from midrange, making 45.9 percent of his 2-point attempts from beyond 10 feet according to Basketball-Reference.com. Harris was also effective moving without the ball, scoring more points off cuts than any of the team's other perimeter players, per Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats.
Harris showed potential defensively, where he has quick enough feet to keep up with most point guards. On the small side for a shooting guard at 6-foot-4, Harris might be better off defending the point while playing off the ball on offense. One area Harris didn't improve from his first season was rebounding; he ranked in the league's bottom 15 in rebound percentage among players who saw at least 1,000 minutes of action.
Danilo Gallinari
Position: Forward
Experience: 7 years
Age: 28
Scouting report
+ Skilled forward with size who has struggled to stay healthy
+ Can create own shot and outstanding at drawing fouls
+ Capable of defending either forward position
Analysis
The Rooster crowed again last season. Fully healthy -- more than two years removed from the ACL injury that cost him the entire 2013-14 campaign -- Gallinari averaged a career-high 19.5 points per game before a severe sprained ankle in late February ended his season. Despite his continued struggle with injury -- Gallinari has played more than 62 games just twice in his career -- he's a bargain at the $15 million he'll make this season thanks to a contract renegotiation and extension in the summer of 2015 before a 2017-18 player option.
The Nuggets put the ball in Gallinari's hands more than ever before, as he used a career-high 23 percent of the team's plays. In that role, Gallinari is especially effective at getting into the paint and drawing contact. He shot more than eight free throws per game at an 87 percent clip, which along with 36.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc on something of a set shot made Gallinari efficient despite shooting a career-low 43.4 percent on 2-point attempts. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Gallinari shot just 53.8 percent inside three feet, which is probably something of a fluke -- he made 63.2 percent of those attempts the previous season while coming back from injury.
At 6-foot-10, Gallinari is big enough to log regular minutes at power forward but also quick enough to defend on the wing. He likes to try to beat opponents to the spot to draw contact and rarely gets beaten off the dribble. Given Michael Malone's deep rotation this season, Gallinari's defensive versatility could come in handy.
Kenneth Faried
Position: Forward
Experience: 5 years
Age: 26
Scouting report
+ Athletic power forward who must play hard to excel
+ Relentless offensive rebounder and good finisher
+ Overly aggressive defender who struggles to execute scheme
Analysis
After two down seasons under Brian Shaw, with whom he never seemed to click, Faried's effort level rebounded under new head coach Michael Malone. Still, Faried's role in Denver going forward is uncertain as the Nuggets continue to stockpile younger big men who better complement each other. With three years remaining on a contract that pays him a little less than $13 million a year, Faried is a likely trade candidate.
The difference in Faried's energy is evident throughout his stat line, perhaps no more so than his offensive rebounding. After grabbing about 12 percent of Denver's misses the previous two seasons, Faried rebounded to 15.1 percent, the second-best mark in his career and third-best among all NBA players with at least 1,000 minutes. Putbacks helped Faried boost his 2-point percentage to 55.8 percent, also his best mark since his rookie campaign. Faried will shoot the occasional set shot from the perimeter, but he's yet to find consistency there, making it difficult to play him alongside post-up big man Jusuf Nurkic. Faried can be successful himself in the post, but only when he seals in transition or ducks in from the perimeter, allowing him to get right to the rim.
Better effort made Faried a more capable defender, though still an uneven one at best. His defensive decision-making is poor, as Faried tends to chase obvious pump fakes and gets himself out of position by helping too much. While Faried's block rate bounced back, his steal rate was the worst of his career on a per-play basis by a wide margin. Add it up and ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) rated Faried among the league's bottom 20 percent defensively at power forward.
Nikola Jokic
Position: Center
Experience: 1 year
Age: 21
Scouting report
+ Precociously skilled center who can play in high and low post
+ Has 3-point range and is excellent passer for a big man
+ Positional defender who rarely blocks shots
Analysis
Largely out of nowhere, Jokic surpassed Mudiay as the top rookie on the Nuggets, finishing third in the voting for Rookie of the Year and making the All-Rookie First Team. The No. 41 pick of the 2014 draft, Jokic spent one additional season overseas before coming to Denver and posting the best RPM of any rookie by a wide margin. At 21, Jokic looks like a future star, yet will make just $4.3 million over the next three seasons on a bargain deal.
The biggest question the Nuggets have to answer with Jokic is whether they can play him together with fellow 2014 draftee Nurkic, himself an All-Rookie Second-Team pick the previous season. The two centers started the final three games of 2015-16 together but had a minus-7.1 net rating when they shared the court, per NBA.com/Stats, so it would be understandable if Malone wasn't interested in continuing to experiment.
Such a pairing is only possible because of Jokic's versatility. He's incredibly skilled for a 6-foot-10 center, making 28 3-pointers at a 33.3 percent clip and handing out 3.9 assists per 36 minutes -- tied with Marc Gasol for fourth among centers last season. Even that understates the highlight nature of the passes Jokic threw. While he plays primarily in the low post for his native Serbia in international play, playing at the high post enables Jokic to beat slower defenders off the dribble at center or space the floor alongside Nurkic.
Scouts knew Jokic was offensively talented, but figured he would struggle defensively against NBA athleticism. Not so. While Jokic rarely blocks shots (his block rate was only average for a power forward) and had a tough time defending physical big men, particularly early in the season, he ranked 10th in the league in defensive RPM. Jokic's positioning was beyond his years, allowing him to protect the rim without actually blocking shots, and he demonstrated impressive ability to show and recover against pick-and-rolls.
Reserves
Will Barton
Position: Forward
Experience: 4 years
Age: 25
Scouting report
+ High-scoring swingman emerged as Sixth Man Award contender
+ Always capable off the dribble, has added 3-point range
+ Lanky frame limits him defensively
Analysis
Having added him in a deal for Arron Afflalo at the 2015 trade deadline, Denver quietly re-signed Barton for three years and a little more than $10 million last summer and watched him blossom into one of the league's more productive reserves. Barton finished in the top five in voting for both the Sixth Man Award and Most Improved Player.
Even with the Portland Trail Blazers, Barton was an effective scorer off the bounce and underrated distributor. His game changed for the better last season because he started making 3s. Barton had made 23 total triples in three-plus seasons in Portland, a figure he more than quadrupled last season with 112 at an average 34.5 percent clip. Those outside shots both bolstered Barton's true shooting percentage (a career-high .533) and made him playable off the ball.
Despite his improvement, Barton's lofty scoring average (14.4 points per game, third among players eligible for Sixth Man last season) flatters him because he contributes little defensively. Barton is jumpy and tends to get lost when asked to chase active players all around the court. As a result of his poor defensive rating, RPM rated Barton 1.7 points per 100 possessions worse than league average last season. And his difficulty defending bigger small forwards could be an issue as Jamal Murray grows into a larger role in the backcourt, which could ultimately make Barton expendable in a trade.
Jusuf Nurkic
Position: Center
Experience: 2 years
Age: 22
Scouting report
+ Bruising center whose development was set back by knee surgery
+ Struggled to finish over more athletic opponents last season
+ Aggressive defender who must harness instincts
Analysis
Summer surgery to repair his patella tendon sidelined Nurkic the first two months of 2015-16, and he was out of shape and out of the rotation for an extended period upon his return. It wasn't until the end of Nurkic's second campaign that he looked like himself. As Nurkic was working back, Jokic was establishing his hold on a starting spot, meaning the two young centers must either play together or Nurkic will have to come off the bench.
Whether due to the injury, the added weight or a combination of both, Nurkic lacked explosiveness around the basket last season. He made just 49.6 percent of his shots within three feet, per Basketball-Reference.com, down from 58.2 percent as a rookie. Even when healthy, Nurkic has always been more likely to go through defenders than over them. He's a bear in a china shop in the paint but has good touch for a player of that ilk. Nurkic is also a willing passer, and his assist rate was one area he showed improvement in Year 2, though his usage rate skyrocketing at the same time his efficiency plummeted was a concern.
For his size and strength, Nurkic was a relatively graceful defender pre-injury. That wasn't the case most of last season, but by the end of the season he was again tracking pick-and-rolls well and blocking shots from behind. Nurkic does commit a lot of fouls, particularly when he gets fatigued -- 6 per 36 minutes last season, which was actually down slightly from 6.8 as a rookie. He can help cut that rate by successfully employing verticality as a help defender, something he tried to do last season without proper execution. Still just 22, Nurkic has time for development even though 2015-16 was something of a lost cause.
Wilson Chandler
Position: Forward
Experience: 8 years
Age: 29
Scouting report
+ Veteran combo forward who lost entire 2015-16 season to hip surgery
+ Volume 3-point shooter who rarely gets to the basket
+ Capable of defending either forward spot
Analysis
After renegotiating and extending his contract in the summer of 2015, Chandler never got on the court for the Nuggets following November surgery on his right hip -- completing the set after surgery on his left hip in April 2012. Cleared to play 5-on-5 basketball in June, Chandler should be full strength for the start of training camp. With three years and about $36 million left on his new contract, Chandler could be a trade target for contenders once he demonstrates his health.
The combination of age and the surgery should continue Chandler's move toward the perimeter. He took more than 40 percent of his shots from 3-point range in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, making between 34 and 35 percent of them both seasons. That makes Chandler enough of a threat that opponents have to respect him, if not exactly a weapon from downtown. Chandler has been a good finisher when he has gotten to the basket, though that's more often in transition or as a cutter than off the dribble.
Defense is Chandler's best attribute. At a listed 6-foot-8, 225, he's a good option against combo forwards and smaller power forwards. Chandler can also defend on the wing, though quicker opponents may become increasingly challenging for him one-on-one. Denver will likely use Chandler together at forward with Danilo Gallinari on a regular basis since the two players are largely interchangeable defensively.
Jamal Murray
Position: Guard
Experience: Rookie
Age: 19
Scouting report
+ Combo guard who relies on skill and polish over athleticism
+ Thrived playing off ball at Kentucky but also effective pick-and-roll player
+ Limited individual defender who understands team concepts
Analysis
The Nuggets look to have gotten a break when Murray was still available to them with the seventh pick. The Kentucky product was considered a possibility as high as No. 3 overall, but when the Boston Celtics used that pick on Jaylen Brown and the New Orleans Pelicans opted for the more experienced Buddy Hield, Murray dropped a bit to seventh. With Denver, Murray may eventually be able to both play alongside and back up Mudiay similar to how the Portland Trail Blazers use C.J. McCollum.
During his lone college season, Murray struggled when asked to play the point and flourished when John Calipari moved him off the ball. That was partially a function of personnel -- Kentucky badly needed Murray spacing the floor -- but also reflected his score-first mentality. Murray is a polished pick-and-roll player, but as he demonstrated at summer league in Las Vegas, that's more to get his own shot than to set up teammates. Playing shooting guard, Murray was effective coming off screens for 3s, and his 40.8 percent shooting beyond the arc suggests he'll eventually become a knockdown shooter.
The biggest knock on Murray is his individual defense. His lateral mobility is limited, and Murray can struggle one-on-one against difficult matchups. Still, rumors of his defensive weakness seem greatly exaggerated. Murray is good at executing a scheme and providing help when necessary. Since he'll likely start his career as a reserve, Murray will probably hold up fine on defense. It would be nice if he could improve his poor steal rate.
Darrell Arthur
Position: Forward
Experience: 7 years
Age: 28
Scouting report
+ Savvy, defensive-minded veteran power forward
+ Team typically defends much better with him on court
+ Has added 3-point range to pick-and-pop game
Analysis
Just 28, Arthur feels older because he entered the league at age 20 (this is his ninth season, including one he missed due to a ruptured Achilles) and has the savvy game of a veteran in his 30s. After three seasons in Denver, Arthur has become a fixture on the bench, and he signed a new three-year deal with the Nuggets as an unrestricted free agent this summer worth $23 million.
Arthur's calling card is defense, and though he's no longer the plus athlete he was in his early 20s before the injury, he more than makes up for that with his experience and positioning. Arthur excels defending the pick-and-roll game and is comfortable switching out on smaller players when necessary. Though he's a poor defensive rebounder, Arthur collects steals and blocks at above-average rates, and more importantly, the team defends better with him on the court.
After years of progress toward turning long 2-point jumpers into 3s, Arthur broke through last season by making a career-high 45 triples at a 38.5 percent clip. Long a capable midrange shooter and accurate at the free throw line, Arthur should be able to settle in near league-average from 3. The higher-value attempts helped Arthur post a true shooting percentage better than .500 for just the second time in his NBA career. Because he's so good defensively, Arthur need only be adequate on offense to be a valuable player overall.
Jameer Nelson
Position: Guard
Experience: 12 years
Age: 34
Scouting report
+ Aging point guard who was dropped out of rotation after injury
+ Largely reliant on 3-point shot, which slumped last season
+ Defensive liability due to size as quickness wanes
Analysis
With Mudiay struggling to adjust to the NBA, then injured, Nelson averaged 27 minutes per game before going down with an injury of his own (a sprained wrist) in mid-January. By the time Nelson returned after the All-Star break, he'd been replaced by deadline pickup D.J. Augustin, and he played just one game the rest of the season. With Augustin departed, Nelson is the only true point guard behind Mudiay, though he'll have to hold off rookie Jamal Murray for backup minutes at the point.
Nearly 47 percent of Nelson's shot attempts last season were 3-pointers, actually down slightly from his rate the previous two seasons. Once an effective pick-and-roll point guard with the Orlando Magic, Nelson is now more of a caretaker offensively who spends much of his time spotting up -- one reason Malone was comfortable playing him with Mudiay. Alas, that made it a big problem when Nelson slumped to 29.9 percent beyond the arc, and his .464 true shooting percentage was far and away the worst mark of his career.
Listed at 6-foot, but an inch or two shorter in reality, Nelson was able to compensate with quickness and a low center of gravity in his prime. While he still has the low center of gravity, the quickness is gone, making Nelson something of a defensive liability. So even if his shooting bounces back as expected this season, he'll likely be no better than an average backup point guard.
Juan Hernangomez
Position: Forward
Experience: Rookie
Age: 20
Scouting report
+ Perimeter-oriented power forward with knack for crashing offensive glass
+ Has 3-point range but may not shoot accurately from beyond the arc immediately
+ Will typically be outmatched athletically on defense
Analysis
The younger brother of 2015 second-round pick Willy Hernangomez, who's joining the New York Knicks this season, Juan -- aka "Juancho," which makes him sound something like a cartoon superhero -- was taken by the Nuggets with the 15th pick they acquired from the Houston Rockets in the Ty Lawson trade. After a solid performance at the Las Vegas Summer League, Denver decided to bring Hernangomez -- who turns 21 at the end of September -- over immediately instead of letting him continue to develop in his native Spain.
A stretch 4, Hernangomez went from afterthought to rotation player for Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB last season, making 34 triples at a 35.8 percent clip. Unlike some players of his ilk, Hernangomez also manages to contribute on the offensive glass. He has a good feel for when to crash and when to stay on the perimeter, and flashed solid court vision in Vegas. His perimeter ability may ultimately make him a good match with Nurkic and allow him to interchange offensively with Jokic.
Scouts dinged Hernangomez to some extent for his defense. He moves a bit awkwardly, if not necessarily slowly, and doesn't yet have the strength to defend bigger power forwards one-on-one -- one reason the Nuggets will probably bring him along slowly. On the plus side, Hernangomez is a good defensive rebounder for a perimeter-oriented player. Eventually, he could develop into a lower-usage version of Ryan Anderson.
Mike Miller
Position: Forward
Experience: 16 years
Age: 36
Scouting report
+ Veteran sharpshooter relied on primarily for leadership
+ Tended to defend big men in small lineups last season
+ Rarely ventures inside 3-point line on offense
Analysis
Denver was Miller's third stop of the 2015 offseason after being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Blazers, who subsequently waived him. Miller then signed for the veteran's minimum with the Nuggets and put down some roots. He re-signed this summer for two years and $7 million, albeit with the 2017-18 salary non-guaranteed. With the return of Chandler and arrival of Hernangomez, Miller's main contributions are likely to come in the locker room.
At age 36, Miller no longer resembles the high-flying wing who entered the league 16 years ago. Searching Gabriel Poon's visualization of SportVU tracking data for Miller shows him spending most of his time outside the 3-point line. He attempted just 10 2-pointers in 373 minutes, fewer than his made 3s (19). Since Miller can't defend athletic wings, he spent as much time playing power forward in smaller lineups as his usual small forward spot.
Malik Beasley
Position: Guard
Experience: Rookie
Age: 19
Scouting report
+ Shooting guard who was productive in lone college season
+ Good 3-point shooter with plus athleticism for role
+ Missed NBA summer league due to stress fracture
Analysis
Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN Recruiting Nation, Beasley parlayed a solid freshman season at Florida State into a spot in the first round. Coming into a deep backcourt at age 19 (he'll be 20 in November) without the benefit of playing in the NBA summer league (he sat out following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right tibia), Beasley is unlikely to play much as a rookie.
In time, Denver surely hopes that Beasley can develop into an ace 3-point shooter with the athleticism to be a positive at the other end of the court. He shot 38.7 percent on 3s as a freshman along with a solid 81.3 percent from the free throw line. A good rebounder for a guard, Beasley doesn't contribute much else in terms of box-score stats.
JaKarr Sampson
Position: Guard
Experience: 2 years
Age: 23
Scouting report
+ Athletic wing still in search of NBA-caliber skills
+ Thrives in transition but struggles in half-court offense
+ Results have yet to match potential as individual defender
Analysis
The Philadelphia 76ers had to waive Sampson to make room for Joel Anthony in a deadline trade that was later rescinded by the Detroit Pistons. Before the Sixers could sign Sampson back, the Nuggets snapped him up on a two-year deal with a non-guaranteed second season. Though Sampson started 22 of the 26 games he played in Denver -- giving him 40 total starts for the year and 72 in two NBA seasons -- he'll have to battle Axel Toupane and the team's training-camp invitees for the 15th spot on the roster.
Sampson was a good fit for the Nuggets because of his transition ability. He's a blur up and down the court, and fast breaks helped him take 15.7 percent of his shots in Denver as dunks, according to Basketball-Reference.com, more than twice as frequently as he took them in Philadelphia. When the game slows down in the half court, however, there's little for Sampson to contribute. He went backwards as a shooter in Year 2, making just 14 3-pointers at a dismal 22.2 percent clip, second-worst in the NBA among players with at least 50 attempts. And though the Sixers tried him at point guard as a rookie, Sampson can't really do much off the dribble but turn the ball over. So despite the easy scores, he used just 13.5 percent of the Nuggets' plays.
At 6-foot-9 with enough athleticism to defend either backcourt position, Sampson should be a quality defender. But he has only been about average for a wing defensively, according to RPM. While Sampson is never at a mismatch defensively and blocks shots regularly for a wing (his block rate was nearly average for a power forward), he doesn't execute the scheme well and is often out of position.
Axel Toupane
Position: Guard
Experience: 1 year
Age: 24
Scouting report
+ Aspiring 3-and-D wing who earned call-up from D-League
+ Has improved outside shooting but remains below average
+ Active defender with good size and athleticism for the wing
Analysis
In need of wings with Gallinari sidelined late in the season, Denver called up Toupane from the D-League's Toronto 905. The French wing, in his first year stateside, is attempting to become a 3-and-D role player. He shot decently from 3-point range with the Nuggets, making 32.5 percent on 40 attempts, but shot just 40 percent inside the arc because he had a tough time connecting off the dribble.
While Toupane didn't get much of a chance to show his ballhandling skills in the NBA, he averaged a solid 3.6 assists per game in the D-League. Toupane showed promise defensively, guarding both wing spots and even power forward in small lineups.
Robbie Hummel
Position: Forward
Experience: 2 years
Age: 27
Scouting report
+ Productive college combo forward
+ Has enough size to play some stretch 4
Analysis
Hummel played two years for the Minnesota Timberwolves before spending last season playing for Milano in Italy. A standout college player at Purdue, Hummel suffered a series of knee injuries that have hampered his professional career. No longer quick enough to defend elite wings on the perimeter, Hummel also isn't quite big enough or effective enough on the glass to settle in as a power forward, leaving him something of a tweener. And while Hummel makes good decisions, he hasn't scored with even average efficiency in the NBA, so he'll have a tough time making Denver's roster in training camp.
D.J. Kennedy
Position: Guard
Experience: 1 year
Age: 26
Scouting report
+ Big guard with ballhandling skills
+ Only adequate outside shooter
Analysis
Since a two-game cup of coffee with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011-12, Kennedy has played in Israel, France, Germany and Russia. Compared to wintering in Siberia, spending October in the Mile High City must seem awfully appealing. Kennedy got $50,000 to come to camp with the Nuggets, per Eric Pincus of BasketballInsiders.com. He has wing size with some ability to handle the ball, but Kennedy's middling 3-point shooting has made it tough to play him on the wing.
Jarnell Stokes
Position: Center
Experience: 2 years
Age: 22
Scouting report
+ Productive, undersized post player
+ Not really a defensive anchor
Analysis
Stokes averaged 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season in the D-League but was still traded twice and waived after the last one by the New Orleans Pelicans. He'll take another shot at the NBA with Denver, who doesn't seem to have much need for more big men.
The fundamental issue for Stokes is that he's a 6-foot-9 center. While he can step away from the basket on offense, Stokes doesn't have the skills or mobility to play power forward. And since he doesn't get off the ground well, Stokes rarely blocks shots and doesn't defend the rim well enough as a center. But if a team is willing to live with his defensive deficiencies, Stokes can be a presence in the paint offensively.
Nate Wolters
Position: Guard
Experience: 2 years
Age: 25
Scouting report
+ Steady point guard who makes good decisions
+ Limited athletically and as a 3-point shooter
Two seasons after starting 31 games for the Milwaukee Bucks as a rookie, Wolters found himself out of the NBA last season, playing in Turkey for Besiktas. He'll be in training camp trying to convince the Nuggets they need a third traditional point guard on the roster. Wolters is a careful ball handler who had an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 3:1 as a rookie, but he's neither a particularly dynamic playmaker nor a capable outside shooter. Add in the fact that Wolters will often be at a quickness disadvantage, and you understand why he has been on the NBA's fringe.