7 Possibilities For The Nuggets First Pick In The Draft

DENVER (CBS4) - Almost every mock draft has Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke's Jahlil Okafor as the top two picks in the NBA Draft, so what will the options be for the Nuggets when they pick seventh on Thursday night?

Here are seven prospects/options the Nuggets may consider:

1a. Justise Winslow (Duke) / 1b. Mario Hezonja (Croatia)
Mock drafts have one of these two players over and over to the Nuggets at No. 7, the 19-year-old Duke forward Winslow or the 20-year-old Croatian Hezonja.

Winslow (known for his defense) would be the safe pick for new coach Michael Malone, while Hezonja would be more of a wild card (he has a reputation for being a bit cocky and lazy). Doubtful both would still be available at No. 7, but general consensus a few days out is that Nuggets should be able to get one of them without making a trade.

3. Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky)
Some mock drafts have the Wildcats big man going in the top 5, others have him falling out of the top 10. The 7 footer showed some range during his workout in Denver, and said that Kentucky was so good last year he didn't get to showcase all of his talents.

4. Emmanuel Mudiay (China)
Mudiay played high school basketball in Texas, but instead of playing one year of college hoops, decided to play a year in China. Most mock drafts have Sacramento selecting the point guard, but there have been reports of the Nuggets trying to work out a trade with the Kings involving Ty Lawson.

5a. D'Angelo Russell (Ohio St.) / 5b. Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia)
These two players have been trending upwards the last week, and the Nuggets would almost certainly have to trade into the top 5 to get either the guard from Ohio State or the versatile big man from Latvia.

7. Trade Back
If the player the Nuggets are in love with isn't available at No. 7 or they aren't able to move up, they could also consider making a trade to move back, possibly getting more future first round picks, or maybe packaging the pick with some current Nuggets for some new players that could contribute right away.

Mark Haas is CBS4's weekend sports anchor and sports reporter. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook.