NBA Mock Draft 2016: Who Do the Lakers Select?

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Nov 23, 2015; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears forward Jaylen Brown (0) drives in against Sam Houston State Bearkats forward Torry Butler (24) during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2015; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears forward Jaylen Brown (0) drives in against Sam Houston State Bearkats forward Torry Butler (24) during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets have a bevy of picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft and they’re a team that could use them in a number of interesting ways. Though they obviously had an unsuccessful season as a whole, they are still a team with a great deal of talent, quality young players like Nikola Jokic, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jusuf Nurkic, and several others. On top of that, there are players like Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried that are big assets in Denver as well.

As such, figuring out where the Nuggets would choose to go with their lottery pick is a bit tricky as they have pieces all over the depth chart. With that being said, their best bet would almost surely be to take the best player n the board, which would be Jaylen Brown of the Cal Golden Bears in this position right here at No. 7 and given the players that have already come off of the board.

Brown has a ton of talent and upside as an all-around athlete and the type of player that can really do just about everything well. There are certainly questions about how his game would translate to the NBA level and if he truly has any elite skills, which would be why I have him dropping to No. 7 in this NBA Mock Draft rather than having him much higher as many mocks do. That being said, he’s a player who could fit in quite nicely in Denver and ultimately be well worth the lottery pick.

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