Pistons Palace NBA mock draft post lottery

11. Denver Nuggets

James Young, G, Kentucky

Mar 28, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard/forward James Young (1) shoots over Louisville Cardinals forward Stephan Van Treese (44) in the first half in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Denver is looking for the best talent available at this point and to get more athletic at the guard position. James Young fits both bills and could come into Denver and have an impact right away. I don’t know what they are putting in the water lately, but Young is another big guard that can handle the basketball. At 6’6″ Young has a 7′ wingspan. The Rochester, Michigan native really focuses on his spot up jumper offensively. He uses his length to his advantage and always finds a spot on the court where he can release with a hand in his face, but still have an open look because of his height and arm length advantage at the shooting guard position.

Despite nearly half of his offensive production coming from the spot up jumper, Young can get to the bucket with the best of them.

He doesn’t have super speed, but he uses his size to his advantage as he heads to the bucket. Young compares his game to Tracy McGrady and it seems like a pretty fair fit. Despite the fact that McGrady was better in isolation and Young is by far a better rebounder.

Despite being a premiere player, Young struggles with getting past even average defenders at times because of his lack of ball handling ability.

All the Nuggets have at shooting guard is Randy Foye, who isn’t a long term option. Young is a solid all-around player that the Nuggets could build up as their next star. If he continues to play like he did in the NCAA tournament, fans better be ready to watch a really talented player develop quickly in front of them.