The Worst Draft And Trade Mistakes In Denver Nuggets History

Denver Nuggets Selected: Blair Rasmussen, 15th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Joe Dumars (18th Overall Pick)

To find the first draft mistake in Denver Nuggets history, we have to go back to the 1985 NBA Draft. With the 18th pick, the Nuggets brought in Blair Rasmussen, a 7’00’’ center from the University of Oregon. Rasmussen would begin his career off the bench for the Nuggets, averaging just 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds during his rookie season in just 49 games.

Over the next six seasons with the Nuggets, Rasmussen would show flashes of being the first-round pick the Nuggets thought they were getting when they selected him in 1986. Unfortunately, he would never develop into the franchise cornerstone they had hoped he would. Over six seasons with Denver, Rasmussen would average 10.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 47.2% shooting from the field before being traded to Atlanta in 1991.

Just three picks after Rasmussen, the Detroit Pistons would have a franchise game-changer fall into their laps. Joe Dumars would become a Detroit legend during his 14-year career with the team which included six All-Star selections, three All-NBA Team selections, and five All-Defensive Team selections. Dumars was an integral part of Detroit’s championships in 1989 and 1990 including the 1989 series in which he was named Finals MVP averaging 27.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in a sweep of the Lakers.

1989 NBA Draft

Denver Nuggets Selected: Todd Lichti, 15th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Shawn Kemp (17th Overall Pick)

Just four seasons later, and once again with the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets would make their next mistake detrimental to their franchise. The Nuggets decided on 6’4’’ shooting guard Todd Lichti out of Stanford. Lichti was expected to give a boost to a Nuggets second unit that struggled to keep the pace of their starting lineup and provide some much-needed offense.

Lichti showed promise in his second season with the team, averaging 14.5 points and 1.6 steals per game for the Nuggets in 29 games played. An injury would cost him the rest of the season following a hot start. Lichti would struggle over the next few seasons, never returning to how he looked during the 1990-91 season. He would play just three more seasons in the NBA before retiring at 27 years old in 1993-94.

Little did the Nuggets know that one of the greatest power forwards of the 1990s was available when they plucked Lichti off the board. Shawn Kemp wowed audiences everywhere with his incredible athleticism and abilities on both ends of the court. Kemp would spend 14 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Seattle SuperSonics where he became one of the best players in franchise history.

Overall, Kemp would earn six All-Star selections and three All-NBA Team selections from 1993 through 1998. Kemp would average 18,5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game during this time as well as help lead Seattle to an NBA Finals berth in 1996.

1997 NBA Draft

Denver Nuggets Selected: Tony Battie, 5th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Tracy McGrady (9th Overall Pick)

It would be another eight seasons until the Nuggets made their next big NBA Draft mistake, and it was a big one. Holding a rare pick inside the top five, the Nuggets would select a highly-touted big man out of Texas Tech named Tony Battie. Despite all of the hype, Battie would spend just one season with the Nuggets averaging 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He would be traded along with Tyronn Lue to the Lakers in exchange for Nick Van Exel and go on to have a 15-year NBA career with six different teams.

Just four picks after Battie, high schooler Tracy McGrady would be drafted by the Toronto Raptors. While the Raptors failed to use McGrady in a productive manner, and he would break out of his shell with the Magic in 2001, the Nuggets could have used his abilities almost right away.

McGrady would go on to become one of the most iconic players and best shooting guards of the 2000s. He would win the 2001 NBA Most Improved Player award and back-to-back scoring titles in 2003 and 2004. Before injuries derailed his full potential, McGrady would earn seven All-Star selections and seven All-NBA team selections in his 15-year NBA career with the Raptors, Magic, Rockets, Pistons, Knicks, and Hawks. He would be inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2017.

1998 NBA Draft

Denver Nuggets Selected: Raef LaFrentz, 3rd Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Vince Carter (5th Overall Pick)

Just one season after the Tracy McGrady debacle, the Nuggets would have yet another draft selection inside the top five. Denver helped the third overall pick and decided to go with 6’11 big man Raef LaFrentz out of the University of Kansas. LaFrentz was a southpaw big man who would go on to have a decent 10-year career with Denver, Boston, Dallas, and Portland from 1999 through 2008.

LaFrentz’s best seasons would come with the Nuggets from 1999 through 2002 when he averaged 13.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game on 46.2% shooting. LaFrentz would be traded to Dallas in the 2001-02 season for Tim Hardaway and Juwan Howard. Once again, the Toronto Raptors would benefit from a miss by Denver with Vince Carter falling into their laps with the fifth overall pick just as McGrady did the year before.

Carter would become an icon of a generation during the 2000s with his high-flying and emphatic dunks and overall offensive repertoire. Aside from his highlights and iconic 2000 Slam Dunk Contest win, Carter would go on to play 22 seasons in the NBA. He earned eight All-Star selections and two All-NBA team selections in his career. At his peak from 2000 through 2009, Carter averaged 23.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

2002 NBA Draft

Denver Nuggets Selected: Nikoloz Tskitshvili, 5th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Amar’e Stoudemire (9th Overall Pick)

The 2002 NBA Draft would mark the next time in Nuggets history they would hold the fifth overall pick. With that selection, they would decide on forward Nikoloz Tskitshvili out of the country of Georgia. Despite the hype of becoming a franchise-altering superstar, Tskitishvili would be anything but, playing just two and a half seasons in Denver averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Tskitishvili would play just four seasons in total in the NBA before walking away at just 22 years old in 2005-06.

Little did the Nuggets know that their franchise-changing big man was just a few selections away. Amar’e Stoudemire was made the ninth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns where he would go on to win the 2003 Rookie of the Year award averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Stoudemire would spend eight seasons in Phoenix where he went on to help lead the most potent offense in the NBA and averaged 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game in his time there.

Overall, Stoudemire would become a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA Team selection in his 14-year career with the Suns, Knicks, Mavericks, and Heat. Stoudemire’s career may not warrant a Hall of Fame selection in the future but as one of the best big men of the 2000s, Denver missed out on an extremely talented player.

2015 NBA Draft

Denver Nuggets Selected: Emmanuel Mudiay, 7th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Devin Booker (13th Overall Pick)

The final major mistake the Denver Nuggets made in the NBA Draft came just eight years ago in 2015. Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay from the Democratic Republic of Congo was a highly sought-after prospect in the 2015 NBA Draft and with their seventh overall pick, the Nuggets decided to roll the dice on him.

Mudiay would be decent in his two-plus seasons with the Nuggets, averaging 11.1 points and 4.3 assists per game but shooting just 36.4% from the field in that time. Mudiay would be dealt out of Denver in the 2017-18 season and continue his career through the 2021-22 season. A bit further down the draft board, Devin Booker would be selected by the Phoenix Suns, a player that all 29 teams wish they could go back and grab themselves.

Over the last eight-plus seasons, Booker has evolved into the best shooting guard in the NBA, helping the Suns go from a laughing stock to one of the better teams in the league. During his career thus far, Booker has earned three All-Star selections and one All-NBA Team selection averaging 24.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Booker is currently helping to lead the Suns on their latest quest for their first NBA title in franchise history. Mudiay is currently trying to make his way back to the NBA after spending time overseas.

The Worst Trades In Denver Nuggets History

1980 Trade Between The Denver Nuggets And Portland Trail Blazers

Denver Nuggets Receive: T.R Dunn, 1983 First-Round Draft Pick

Portland Trail Blazers: 1983 First-Round Draft Pick, 1984 Second-Round Draft Pick

The four biggest trade blunders in Denver Nuggets history all happened either on the night of the NBA draft or involved a future draft pick that turned into a superstar. The 1980 deal with the Portland Trail Blazers falls into the latter category as they traded two future draft picks for shooting guard T.R. Dunn.

Dunn would give 10 seasons of his career to the Nuggets, averaging 4.9 points,4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. The player the Trail Blazers would use their 1983 draft pick on, Clyde Drexler, would make this deal a significant loss for the Nuggets. Drexler was taken 15h overall in the 1983 NBA Draft with the Nuggets swapping places and picking 16th.

As we all know by now, Drexler would go on to become one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history as well as one of the greatest players in Trail Blazers history. He led them to two NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 and earned 10 All-Star selections and five All-NBA team selections in his career. In 1995, Drexler would win an NBA title alongside Hakeem Olajuwon with the Houston Rockets.

2004 Trade Between The Denver Nuggets And Orlando Magic

Denver Nuggets Receive: 2005 First-Round Draft Pick

Orlando Magic Receive: Jameer Nelson

During the 2004 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets were searching for another potential star to pair with Carmelo Anthony to lead their team into the future or draft capital to use in a trade to acquire such talent. With the 20th overall selection, the Nuggets decided on point guard Jameer Nelson, a point guard out of St. Joseph’s.

While Nelson would not set the world on fire in the NBA with Orlando, he was a borderline star with the team from 2005 through 2015. In 2009, Nelson earned All-Star honors averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Later on that season, he would help lead the team to an NBA Finals appearance for the first time since 1995. The Nuggets definitely missed out on a player that could have helped them in the long run.

2013 Trade Between The Denver Nuggets And Utah Jazz

Denver Nuggets Receive: Erick Green, Cash

Utah Jazz Receive: Rudy Gobert

Several years after the Jameer Nelson deal, the Denver Nuggets would find themselves making another draft-day trade that would see them miss out on a game-changing player. With their 27th overall pick in 2013, the Nuggets decided on 7-footer Rudy Gobert out of France, A defensive big man with tremendous upside. Just as quickly as he was introduced, he was traded out of town in exchange for point guard Erick Green.

Green would end up playing just 46 games for the Nuggets over the next two years, averaging 3.2 points per game in 9.1 minutes of action. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz knew they had a budding star on their hands with Gobert. By 2018, Gobert was winning his first of three Defensive Player of the Year awards and by 2020, he was earning his first of three All-Star selections as well.

While Gobert would have been a huge upgrade for the Nuggets in 2013, the Nuggets would make up for this decision in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft when they drafted future two-time MVP and future Finals MVP Nikola Jokic.

2017 Trade Between The Denver Nuggets And Utah Jazz

Denver Nuggets Receive: Tyler Lydon, Trey Lyles

Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell

Just four seasons after the Jazz fleeced the Nuggets for Rudy Gobert, the two teams came together again for a draft-day trade that ended up heavily favoring Utah yet again. This time, the Nuggets selected Donovan Mitchell with the 13th pick in the 2017 NBA draft and quickly shipped him to Utah in exchange for Trey Lyles and Tyler Lydon. Lyles would spend two seasons in Denver averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Lydon would appear in 26 games in total in his NBA career with Denver averaging less than 1.0 points per game.

Once again, the Jazz had fleeced the Nuggets into dealing them a potential superstar. Mitchell quickly made an impression, nearly winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2018 with 20.5 points per game on 43.7% shooting. Two seasons later, Mitchell earned his first of four straight All-Star selections as one of the best shooting guards in the entire NBA. While Utah eventually traded both Gobert and Mitchell in 2022 to rebuild their team, they clearly got the better end of both deals.

Could you imagine a Big 3 trio of Jokic, Gobert, and Mitchell in the Mile High City? Would they have been more successful than the 2023 NBA championship squad? I think Denver is okay with the mistakes they have made in the past considering they are favorites to repeat as NBA champions in 2023-24.