With Denver’s middling playoff roster in a loaded West, there were a few ways I considered going. In any scenario, I knew I wanted more size, versatility, and defense. Denver's best players are either undersized, meh defenders, or both. Here are the ways I thought about going:

- I could look to retool and trade some of my vets, particularly Millsap, for picks and/or young players with upside. In this scenario, I give up on trying to compete with behemoths in the West, and hope to accumulate more young talent to compete a few years down the line. I made some Millsap offers to some Eastern Conference contenders, but the managers were either averse to mortgaging too much of their future or didn’t have the right combination of young pieces to make me pull the trigger. I had an offer lined up to get 7 if I could get another pick in the teens, but it was not to be. In that situation my hope was to trade Millsap for a defensive prospect I like plus a pick in the teens, then trade that pick and my first for 7 and take either Wendell Carter or Marvin Bagley. Those two aren’t a great fit with Jokic, but I like their talent and production enough that I’d be okay with seeing how well things work out. I also tried to get one of Miami’s young defensive wings, but Winslow was not for sale and Richardson was traded soon after I looked into him (more on Richardson later).

- I could trade my pick and/or some of my prospects for an impact player to pair with my best players in Jokic and Millsap to try and make a deep run in the playoffs. I was less interested in this option, but I still did my due diligence by inquiring with a few teams. This didn’t bear much fruit, since most of the available players had already been moved or weren’t worth their contracts. I was offered some vets, but they were either too mediocre, redundant, expensive, or some combination of the three.

- I could decide to stick with the team I have, try to address some weaknesses through the draft, and hope the progression of my young core is enough to make me more competitive in a loaded West. This is what ended up happening.

Picks:
- I took Troy Brown at 14 because he is young, big, versatile, and productive. Though he is not explosive or a good shooter, he’s a playmaker who can handle, rebound, and defend big wings. I figured a 18 year old with high BBIQ, size, and a wide variety of skills is a pretty good upside play in the late lottery. Plus, he fills a size/defense need and the roster can usually put enough shooters on the floor to make up for his weakness there. He could even play PG in lineups where he doesn’t have to guard a smaller, quicker player. I was hoping either Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Brown would be available, as they check similar boxes.

- With the 43rd pick, I went for another young player with size and defensive potential in Jarred Vanderbilt. He is a terrible shooter and scorer at forward, but he seems guaranteed to have the floor of an exceptional rebounder and versatile defender. His youth, athleticism, size, extreme tenacity, and surprisingly strong dribbling and passing abilities make me optimistic that he can be a super-role-player even if the shooting never comes around.

- With the 58th pick, I took Justin Jackson of Maryland. He’s yet another guy that matches the size, defense, and versatility requirements I wanted to fill. JJ is long and athletic enough to play both the 3 and the 4, and some have said he can play the small-ball 5 in certain lineups. He’s a guy who was considered 1st round value and a good shooter in 16-17, and though he was worse in 17-18 I think enough of that drop is attributable to a shoulder injury that he’s worth a gamble late in the 2nd. Eurostashes were a consideration here, but I liked JJ enough to use the pick as a lottery ticket.

- I traded Arthur, Lydon, Hernangomez, my 2020 2nd rounder, and the 55th pick this year (which I got after trading Petr Cornelie's rights to Charlotte) to MN for Josh Richardson (who had been acquired in another trade) because I am a big fan of his combination of defense and playmaking skills. He can play 1-3 and has no major weaknesses, which opens more options for the Nuggets’ lineup. I think he still has some room for growth, and he’s on a relatively cheap contract. He makes the team more competitive immediately and also fits into the plan if the team gets younger. Arthur is a decent-sized expiring contract and there is some enticing upside in the prospects and picks I sent out, but I’m not high enough on those prospects or their team fit to want to spend more money on them in the future.

What do you think? If you have any questions, post them in the comments.