The Denver Nuggets may not have much young talent to lean on right now, but Aaron Gordon likes what he’s seen from the two rookies the team brought in this summer.
Denver used the 35th pick on Trevon Brazile and followed with Bryce Hopkins at No. 49, and both players flashed enough in Summer League to give the organization something to work with. Gordon gave the pair a public thumbs-up during a short interview at his youth basketball camp.
"The rookies are good," Gordon said. "Bryce [Hopkins] is really good.
TB (Trevon Brazile) is really good. So they can play.
I'm not entirely sure where they're gonna fit in, but they can go."
That last part matters. The talent is there, but the path to minutes in Denver is anything but clear. There’s a real chance neither rookie plays much this season, even though both could offer useful minutes if the opportunity opens up.
Brazile, 23, is actually the youngest player on the Nuggets roster and the only one under 24. He also looks like the more immediate option of the two. At Arkansas in his final college season, he put up 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 52.5% from the field and 34.1% from three.
The appeal goes beyond the box score. Brazile is listed at 6'9.5" with a 9'1" standing reach and a 41.5-inch max vertical, and he uses those tools well. He brings real defensive versatility, plus the kind of lob-catching ability that could make him a natural fit next to Nikola Jokic.
He also showed a little extra juice offensively in Summer League, where he exploded for 32 points in one game while going 6-12 from beyond the arc.
There’s still no guarantee he cracks the rotation quickly, but by the time his rookie year is over, it would be a surprise if David Adelman hasn’t found a way to get him on the floor.
Hopkins arrived a little later, with Denver signing him to a two-way contract more than a month after the draft. He may not carry the same profile as Brazile, but he’s still an interesting piece to watch.
At St. John’s, the 24-year-old forward averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 46.9% from the field and 36.3% from deep. He brings a mix of size and perimeter skill at 6'6" with an 8'9" standing reach, along with what looks like above-average defense.
Most of Hopkins’ season will likely come in the G League, but his Summer League showing suggested that won’t be a problem. In four games in Las Vegas, he averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 52.9% from the field.
For now, both rookies have to earn their place on a veteran-heavy roster. Still, Denver has at least two young players worth keeping an eye on, and Gordon’s endorsement says plenty about how they’ve looked so far.
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