Nuggets trade up, select Dayton's DaRon Holmes with 22nd overall pick in NBA draft

DENVER — The Nuggets’ ongoing pursuit of a backup center for Nikola Jokic inspired general manager Calvin Booth to leap six spots in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.

Denver traded up to acquire the 22nd overall pick from Phoenix on Wednesday night, selecting Dayton big man DaRon Holmes, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post. The Nuggets dealt both of their 2024 draft picks (Nos. 28 and 56) plus two future second-rounders to make the move, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Holmes, who turns 22 in August, was associated with Denver from the beginning of the pre-draft process and even canceled multiple pre-draft workouts with other teams. The 6-foot-9, 236-pound center averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his third and final season of college basketball. He led the country in scoring as a roll man and improved his 3-point shooting (38.6%).

The Nuggets have been high on Holmes throughout the pre-draft process, seeing him as a versatile big who can protect the rim — a different profile from the three-time MVP Jokic. But it was believed that multiple teams were eyeing Holmes in front of Denver’s 28th pick, leading to the trade up.

In this first year of a two-day draft format, there was only one selection to evaluate at curtains, unlike last year when the Nuggets snagged three players in a stretch of nine picks the same night: Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson.

They no longer possess a draft pick Thursday (2 p.m. MT, ESPN) in the second round.

This was Booth’s third draft and seventh pick since former executive Tim Connelly left Denver for Minnesota in 2022. Five of the previous six are still on the roster, including 2022 selections Christian Braun and Peyton Watson.