There were some similarities between the first two draft picks made by Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace.

With the 35th overall pick, Denver’s front office selected Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile on Wednesday night. A little later, Denver’s lead executives made the call to select Bryce Hopkins with the 49^th overall pick. Both players are 23 years old after playing five years of college basketball. Each transferred at least once and finished their college careers playing for legendary coaches – John Calipari in Brazile’s case and Rick Pitino in Hopkins’ situation.

“(We) saw some guys that addressed some needs that we needed in terms of length, recovery, defensive ability, versatility, rebound(ing) and toughness,” Wallace, Denver’s executive vice president of player personnel, said after the draft ended.

“We saw the opportunity to do that with guys who’ve been coached hard, played in good programs.”

Brazile spent his freshman season at Missouri and played the last four as a Razorback. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged a career-best 13 points in his fifth year to go with 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals. For his career, Brazile shot 52.8% from the field, 35.1% from 3 and 66.2% from 3-point range. He was the only Division I player to record 50 assists, 50 steals and 50 blocks last season.

Arkansas went 28-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Arizona last season. Brazile was the third member of the Razorbacks drafted this year, following Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 7 to Sacramento) and Meleek Thomas (No. 34 to Cleveland).

“Length, athleticism,” Wallace said of what Brazile brings to the table.
“He’s played in big games, played in arguably the most athletic conference in the collegiate landscape. He’s been coached well. You look at him as being a modern-day NBA swing, being able to get out on the perimeter, handle it a little bit. (He) has the ability to hit shots, but at the same time, defensively, he’s able to get back into place, rebound in and out of his area, makes him a threat.”

The Nuggets received the 35th pick from San Antonio on Tuesday night. The Spurs acquired the 26th pick – Tarris Reed Jr. – for the 35th pick and two future second-round picks. Prior to the trade, Denver only had one second-round pick that could be traded. Now they’ll have three as soon as the new league year starts July 1.

“We got two extra seconds that we feel good about. You can look at other deals around the league and see what two seconds get you at the trade deadline,” Tenzer, executive vice president of basketball operations, said.

“It’s tough to not have as many (assets) as maybe other teams, but throughout the years, we’ve given assets for other options at the time, so this is what it is. We’re comfortable with where we’re at with that.”

Hopkins played his freshman year at Kentucky, the next three years at Providence and closed his career at St. John’s. The 23-year-old scored a career-high 17 points in his final season with the Friars. Last season, Hopkins averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Red Storm. The 6-foot-6 wing shot 45.1% from the field, 32.4% from 3-point range and 71.8% on free throws over his five-year career.

Hopkins was also the third member of his last college team to get drafted behind Zuby Ejiofor (23^rd to Atlanta) and Dillon Mitchell (40^th to Boston). The fact that he also played in big-time moments was especially valuable to the Nuggets.

“It’s very important, specifically for our program and organization, because we’re in such a unique space. Anytime you have Nikola Jokic, you’re a contending team,” Wallace said. “In order to bring in guys who understand the work ethic, who understand the mental toughness and the discipline needed to compete for a long period of time, you can’t really replicate that in most cases. These guys come from a unique position where they can help.”