Let's start like this: I don't know sh--. Last year's NBA preview, I put the Denver Nuggets back in the Western Conference's top four teams, and had the Golden State Warriors missing the playoffs.
Yeah.
So, when trying to guess what the Nuggets might do with their draft picks, I thought it might be wise to consult a few experts, and their mock drafts. Each of these was the latest versions of the draft boards (to my knowledge), as several of these writers put up multiple versions of their board as draft night approaches. Here are the writers for each of the sites we compiled, from a broad cross-section of audiences:
NBA.com - David Aldridge, TNT
Sports Illustrated - Chris Mannis and Luke Winn
Yahoo - Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com
CBS Sports - Gary Parrish
Draft Express - unattributed
SB Nation - Kevin O'Connor
Huffington Post - Jordan Schultz
ESPN - Chad Ford
Maybe I'm not such a bad guesser, as the eight sites have four different players headed to Denver as the seventh pick. Here's a closer look at each site's top 10:
| Team | nba.com | SI | Yahoo | CBS Sports | Draft Express | SB Nation | Huffington Post | ESPN |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Karl-Anthony Towns | Towns | Towns | Towns | Towns | Towns | Towns | Towns |
| L.A. Lakers | Jahlil Okafor | Okafor | Okafor | Okafor | Okafor | Okafor | Okafor | Russell |
| Philadelphia 76ers | D'Angelo Russell | Russell | Russell | Porzingis | Russell | Russell | Russell | Okafor |
| New York Knicks | Emmanuel Mudiay | Porzingis | Porzingis | Russell | Hezonja | Winslow | Mudiay | Porzingis |
| Orlando Magic | Mario Hezonja | Winslow | Winslow | Winslow | Winslow | Porzingis | Porzingis | Mudiay |
| Sacramento Kings | Kristaps Porzingis | Mudiay | Hezonja | Mudiay | Porzingis | Hezonja | Cauley-Stein | Hezonja |
| Denver Nuggets | Justise Winslow | Hezonja | Mudiay | Willie Cauley-Stein | Mudiay | Mudiay | Hezonja | Winslow |
| Detroit Pistons | Cameron Payne | Booker | Stanley Johnson | Hezonja | Johnson | Booker | Winslow | Cauley-Stein |
| Charlotte Hornets | Devin Booker | Turner | Booker | Booker | Kaminsky | Stein | Payne | Booker |
| Miami Heat | Myles Turner | Sam Dekker | Frank Kaminsky | Kaminsky | Booker | Johnson | Johnson | Johnson |
For what little this Stiff's thoughts are worth, here's how I see the draft falling out for that same top 10.
Minnesota - Towns
L.A. - Okafor
Philadelphia - Porzingis
New York - Russell
Orlando - Hezonja
Sacramento - Mudiay
Denver - Winslow (this is my hope, so take it with that bias)
Detroit - Johnson
Charlotte - Booker
Miami - Kaminsky
It all gets clearer later tonight, Nuggets Nation. Who's coming our way? ARE YOU READY?