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Denver Nuggets Sign First-Round Picks Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris

DENVER, July 31, 2014 – The Denver Nuggets have signed first-round draft picks Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, General Manager/Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

The Nuggets acquired the rights to both players in a draft-night trade with the Chicago Bulls on June 26. Nurkic was the 16th overall pick, while Harris was taken at No. 19.

Nurkic, 7-0, 280, averaged 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 28 games for Cedevita Zagreb of the Adriatic League in 2013-14. He recently led Bosnia and Herzegovina to the title at the FIBA Under-20 European Championships Division B.

Nurkic, 19, averaged 21.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.63 blocks in eight games and was named MVP of the tournament.

Harris, 6-4, 210, averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a sophomore at Michigan State in 2013-14. He was an All-Big Ten selection and received honorable mention in the Associated Press All-America voting.

Harris, 19, started 67 of 69 games in his college career and became just the third player in Michigan State history to score 1,000 points in two seasons. He also was the Big 10 Freshman of the year after averaging 12.9 points in 2012-13.

Most recently, Harris averaged a team-leading 18.6 points for the Nuggets at the 2014 Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He scored 33 points in his summer league debut.