Each year, Canis Hoopus has a mock draft. Trades are fair game, so things usually get a little crazy. I had the honor of being in charge of the Nuggets, so I thought I’d recap how it went and get some feedback from fans of the team.

My big move was trading Gary Harris and #13 for #3. I thought I’d be getting Josh Jackson when I made the trade, but I ended up getting Lonzo Ball. (Yay!) I like Harris a lot, but I think this team needs a shot at another star-level player (Jokic is great) to get to the next level and trading him is what it took to get into the top 3.

A team looking to load up on French players traded #30 to me for #49 and rights to Petr Cornelie. I liked that value.

Then I was approached by Charlotte with an odd trade that I couldn’t find a reason to refuse. They wanted Chandler in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Frank Kaminsky, and #41. I like Chandler, but there was enough value coming back that I said yes. (When I made the trade, I thought Jackson was coming at the 3rd pick.)

Once I drafted Ball (which I was very happy about), I decided it was best to move Mudiay for everyone’s sake. I’ll be honest: I don’t think much of him. Still, I may have sold too low, getting Paul Zipser in a three-way deal.

As pick 30 approached, some good players were dropping. I traded 30 and 51 to move up to 28 to make sure I got one of them: Justin Patton. He’s not a need pick by any means, but I like his upside.

By pick 41, the obvious values were gone. I picked a 3-and-D prospect in Sterling Brown. Here’s what I wrote on the site about the pick:

His teammate Semi Ojeleye is getting more attention, and while Semi certainly looks the part of an NBA player, Sterling has better do-shit stats. He’s the kind of second rounder I often like: an older player who had good stats earlier in his career and with good enough size to match his projected position. There isn’t much draft info on him, so I’m a little puzzled why he’s projected to go so low. My guess is low usage on offense and maybe not great athleticism. The Fake Nuggets will find out. I like the idea of a productive college wing with a 6’9.5" wingspan and a career 45% three-point shooting percentage.

Sometimes we do a free-agency period, but I’m not sure it’ll happen this year. I expect the Fake Nuggets would re-sign Gallinari. I’m not as sure about Plumlee. I don’t want to overpay him, especially given the current market for bigs. It isn’t hard to get a respectable big these days. I’m not sure about any other big FA moves, which always seem like a long shot to me unless he’s already on your team or it’s an obvious contender/big market situation. I don’t think Denver (or Minnesota) fits that.

Here’s the net effect of what I did:

In: Lonzo Ball, Justin Patton, Sterling Brown, Jeremy Lamb, Frank Kaminsky, Paul Zipser

Out: Gary Harris, Emmanuel Mudiay, Wilson Chandler, rights to Petr Cornelie (Mike Miller will be released)

I look forward to your feedback! Be warned that the most entertaining responses might be discussed on Canis Hoopus.