[Denver Post] Denver Nuggets' Draft an International Disaster

Carl Herrera · Jun 29, 2012

By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post

NBA commissioner David Stern, left, poses with No. 20 overall draft pick Evan Fournier, who was selected by the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. (Bill Kostroun, The Associated Press)
The legacy of the Dream Team is dead. Evan Fournier, drafted Thursday night by the Nuggets, is proof.

Would the last real basketball player from Europe please turn out the gym lights?

The Nuggets must think their roster is so well-stocked there's no room for immediate improvement. It was a slap in the face to made-in-America basketball when Denver added Fournier with the 20th pick in the opening round. He's no Kenneth Faried, who made general manger Masai Ujiri look like a genius last season.

The Nuggets looked to make a draft-day trade. But they could not find a trade that made sense. "We tried to be aggressive a couple of places. But, first and foremost, we're happy with our team," Ujiri said.

Despite a roster full of young, marketable players, Denver management was surprised by the lack of meaningful proposals during what often is an attractive period for NBA trades. It reinforced the idea that the Nuggets were wise to trade Nene for JaVale McGee when they did, rather than waiting until after the season.

"If something came our way, Masai's job is to listen and then we're going to talk about it," Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. "Nothing came across our plate that we felt we needed to jump for."

Here's the only scouting report you need on Fournier: He's a shooting guard who can't shoot.

The 19-year-old wingman hit 42 percent of his attempts from the field in France's top professional league, seldom mistaken for the Big Ten Conference, home to Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, the all-American power forward taken by the Boston Celtics with the pick after Fournier.

The Nuggets brought in Vanderbilt shooting guard John Jenkins not once but twice for a workout. He must really stink, if Denver opted for Fournier.

With the uncertain contract status and advanced age of Andre Miller, Denver could have used the young legs of Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague. After going No. 29 to Chicago, he instead will be

PHOTOS: NBA DRAFT

View slide show of top 20 draft picks in NBA draft.
coming off the bench for the Bulls to give a breather to Derrick Rose.
Twenty years after Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson inspired players around the world to work 24/7 on the crossover dribble and 3-point shot, Fournier was the lone Euro selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

The NBA's fascination with foreign players has been in decline for years. Blame the Nuggets, who were among the biggest transgressors when it came to falling in love with Continental basketball that was more style than substance.

"There was a time when international was hot, and we flowed with it. There was a time when high school was hot, and we flowed with it. It's the nature of the league," Ujiri said.

Let's hope former general manager Kiki Vandeweghe stockpiled a ton of frequent flyer points through trans-Atlantic trips. In 2002, Denver took a 19-year-old named Nikoloz "Skita" Tskitishvili with the fifth overall pick, in what proved to be among the worst draft reaches in franchise history. A year later, Detroit spared Vandeweghe the embarrassment by taking Darko Milicic at No. 2, leaving Carmelo Anthony to tumble into the lap of the Nuggets.

To compete for Western Conference supremacy with the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose key players are younger and more talented than their Denver counterparts, Ujiri will eventually have to pull the trigger on a significant trade.

Maybe we're spoiled from the magic worked in trading Anthony under extreme duress and the ability to see Faried as more than a rebounding machine. But this draft was a ho-hum disappointment for Denver that doesn't figure to add a passing option for Ty Lawson this season or five years down the line.

"It wasn't a great year to evaluate your players," said Ujiri, citing the compressed schedule after the labor strife that delayed the start of the season. He wants to see this roster mature. "You have to give them a chance."

I have only one question for the Nuggets' first-round draft choice: Où est la bibliothèque?

Because it's highly unlikely Fournier will see any time on the court.
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Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com

Guess every paper has to have its Jerome Solomon

Ricksmith · Jun 29, 2012

I thought it was a good pick. Stash someone overseas with nice potential, but I really thought they would pick a point guard.

BigMaloe · Jun 29, 2012

Ouch...

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[Denver Post] Denver Nuggets' Draft an International Disaster

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