You see them every game on the television. You hear them every game on the radio. Whether it's on
Altitude Sports & Entertainment or the Altitude Radio Network, these people are the faces and voices of the Denver Nuggets. They are your Nuggets Broadcasters.
Nuggets.com recently caught up with a few of your favorite Nuggets broadcasters to discuss the NBA Draft 2005. In an attempt to test their NBA knowledge, we partnered each of them up with another broadcaster for the ultimate mock draft battle.
Each broadcaster has filled out his or her own personal NBA Draft 2005 first round board. They have also had a chance to look over their partner's selections and make comments on them. Some of the picks turned out to be the same, while others turned out to be exact opposites. But until the Draft actually takes place on Tuesday, June 28th, it is hard to say who is the most accurate.
Look through their selections and see for yourself. After seeing their picks and reading their reasonings for certain picks, you be the judge on how their mock drafts have turned out.
First up, we have a head-to-head match-up between Julie Browman of Altitude Sports and Jason Kosmicki of the Altitude Radio Network. This past season marked Browman's first as both an in-studio personality and a courtside reporter during Nuggets telecasts on Altitude. Kosmicki (better known as simply 'Koz') has been covering Nuggets games on the radio along with Jerry Schemmel for the last nine seasons. Together, these two share a wealth of knowledge about both the Nuggets and the entire NBA.
Browman and Kosmicki filled out their mock drafts prior to Tuesday, June 21, which was the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the Draft. Therefore, some of their original picks have withdrawn from the Draft and are no longer eligible to be drafted in 2005.
*** Players that fall into this category have been highlighted in gold on the draft boards listed below. ***
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| Julie Browman Mock Draft |
| 1 |  | Milwaukee Bucks
Andrew Bogut
7-0 C (Utah) |
| 2 |  | Atlanta Hawks
Chris Paul
6-0 PG (Wake Forest) |
| 3 |  | Portland Trail Blazers
Marvin Williams
6-9 F (North Carolina) |
| 4 |  | New Orleans Hornets
Deron Williams
6-3 PG (Illinois) |
| 5 |  | Charlotte Bobcats
Gerald Green
6-8 SG (Gulf Shores HS, TX) |
| 6 |  | Utah Jazz
Martynas Andriuskevicius
7-3 C (Lithuania) |
| 7 |  | Toronto Raptors
Antoine Wright
6-7 SG (Texas A&M) |
| 8 |  | New York Knicks
Johan Petro
7-0 C (France) |
| 9 |  | Golden State Warriors
Chris Taft
6-10 PF (Pittsburgh) |
| 10 |  | Los Angeles Lakers
Raymond Felton
6-0 PG (North Carolina) |
| 11 |  | Orlando Magic
Hakim Warrick
6-9 PF (Syracuse) |
| 12 |  | Los Angeles Clippers
Danny Granger
6-8 SF (New Mexico) |
| 13 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Fran Vazquez
6-10 PF (Spain) |
| 14 |  | Minnesota Timberwolves
Martell Webster
6-7 SG (Seattle Prep HS, WA) |
| 15 |  | New Jersey Nets
Tiago Splitter
6-11 PF (Brazil) |
| 16 | | Toronto Raptors
Ronny Turiaf
6-10 PF (Gonzaga) |
| 17 |  | Indiana Pacers
Nemanja Aleksandrov
6-10 F (Serbia & Mont.) |
| 18 |  | Boston Celtics
Charlie Villanueva
6-11 PF (Connecticut) |
| 19 |  | Memphis Grizzlies
Jarrett Jack
6-3 PG (Georgia Tech) |
| 20 |  | Denver Nuggets
Kennedy Winston
6-6 SG (Alabama) |
| 21 |  | Phoenix Suns
Joey Graham
6-7 SF (Oklahoma State) |
| 22 | | Denver Nuggets
Channing Frye
6-11 C (Arizona) |
| 23 |  | Sacramento Kings
Randolph Morris
6-11 C (Kentucky) |
| 24 |  | Houston Rockets
Sean May
6-9 PF (North Carolina) |
| 25 |  | Seattle Sonics
Andray Blatche
6-11 PF (South Kent Prep, CT) |
| 26 |  | Detroit Pistons
Linas Kleiza
6-8 F (Missouri) |
| 27 | | Utah Jazz
Rudy Fernandez
6-5 SG (Spain) |
| 28 |  | San Antonio Spurs
Francisco Garcia
6-7 SG (Louisville) |
| 29 |  | Miami Heat
Rashad McCants
6-4 SG (North Carolina) |
| 30 | | New York Knicks
Monta Ellis
6-3 G (Lanier HS, MS) |
| Julie Browman Commentary |
On choosing Paul ahead of Williams:
"I don't think the Hawks need Marvin Williams. They need a solid point guard like Chris Paul much more then they need another athlete. I'm not denying that Williams is great, but Paul just seems to fit better there."
On Johan Petro sneaking into the lottery:
"I've heard there are a lot of teams high on his talent. Apparently he's a top 10 player, but it's a matter of whether or not anyone is going to take a chance on him. It may not be New York, but I think someone will."
On Koz picking a European for the Nuggets:
"I don't think we're going to go that route because of some of our past experiences with drafting for the distant future. We need a shooting guard, and we need one this upcoming season, not down the road."
On the Nuggets drafting a big man:
"I understand that Channing Frye can go a lot higher, but I just thought he was a great fit for us. He is a solid big man that can really add a lot to our front line. But whether or not it's Frye, I think we'll draft someone similar."
On Koz's Mingming selection for Houston:
"I feel very badly that I missed that. I think it sounds brilliant."
On the dark horse of her mock draft:
"If he ends up falling, I think Sean May is going to be very good. I have him at 24th, which would be a total steal for Houston."
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| Jason Kosmicki Mock Draft |
| 1 | | Milwaukee Bucks
Andrew Bogut
7-0 C (Utah) |
| 2 | | Atlanta Hawks
Marvin Williams
6-9 F (North Carolina) |
| 3 | | Portland Trail Blazers
Chris Paul
6-0 PG (Wake Forest) |
| 4 | | New Orleans Hornets
Deron Williams
6-3 PG (Illinois) |
| 5 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Gerald Green
6-8 SG (Gulf Shores HS, TX) |
| 6 | | Utah Jazz
Antoine Wright
6-7 SG (Texas A&M) |
| 7 | | Toronto Raptors
Danny Granger
6-8 SF (New Mexico) |
| 8 | | New York Knicks
Martell Webster
6-7 SG (Seattle Prep HS, WA) |
| 9 | | Golden State Warriors
Channing Frye
6-11 C (Arizona) |
| 10 | | Los Angeles Lakers
Raymond Felton
6-0 PG (North Carolina) |
| 11 | | Orlando Magic
Joey Graham
6-7 SF (Oklahoma State) |
| 12 | | Los Angeles Clippers
Yaroslav Korolev
6-9 SF (Russia) |
| 13 | | Charlotte Bobcats
Hakim Warrick
6-9 PF (Syracuse) |
| 14 | | Minnesota Timberwolves
Rashad McCants
6-4 SG (North Carolina) |
| 15 | | New Jersey Nets
Charlie Villanueva
6-11 PF (Connecticut) |
| 16 | | Toronto Raptors
Roko Ukic
6-5 PG (Croatia) |
| 17 | | Indiana Pacers
Francisco Garcia
6-7 SG (Louisville) |
| 18 | | Boston Celtics
Sean May
6-9 PF (North Carolina) |
| 19 | | Memphis Grizzlies
Fran Vazquez
6-10 PF (Spain) |
| 20 | | Denver Nuggets
Ersan Ilyasova
6-9 SF (Turkey) |
| 21 | | Phoenix Suns
Johan Petro
7-0 C (France) |
| 22 | | Denver Nuggets
Ike Diogu
6-9 PF (Arizona State) |
| 23 | | Sacramento Kings
Chris Taft
6-10 PF (Pittsburgh) |
| 24 | | Houston Rockets
Sun Mingming
7-8 C (China) |
| 25 | | Seattle Sonics
Monta Ellis
6-3 G (Lanier HS, MS) |
| 26 | | Detroit Pistons
Luther Head
6-3 PG (Illinois) |
| 27 | | Utah Jazz
Andray Blatche
6-11 PF (South Kent Prep, CT) |
| 28 | | San Antonio Spurs
Wayne Simien
6-9 PF (Kansas) |
| 29 | | Miami Heat
Julius Hodge
6-6 G (North Carolina State) |
| 30 | | New York Knicks
C.J. Miles
6-6 SG (Skyline HS, TX) |
| Jason Kosmicki Commentary |
On Bogut going #1 overall:
"I think it's 100 percent. I don't think he's the best player in the draft, but he's the best 7-footer and really good big guys are so hard to come by."
On Julie picking Paul over Williams:
"Whether or not the Hawks need Marvin Williams, he is the best player in this draft. Atlanta cannot and will not pass on him."
On Portland selecting another point guard:
"I understand that the Blazers picked up Sebastian Telfair last year, which is why they won't hold onto Chris Paul very long. I predict that Portland will trade Paul to Charlotte in exchange for at least the rights to Gerald Green. You just wait and see."
On why he thinks Ilyasova will be a Nugget:
"On more than one occasion, Kiki has talked to the media about possibly drafting somebody and leaving him in Europe. Similar to what we did with Francisco Elson, which has paid off, I think if you leave him over in Europe for a bit he'll become something special."
On the Nuggets drafting Diogu:
"Rarely do you see a guy picked below 18th that can come in and help a team out immediately. I think he's that type of guy. He may not be around when we pick, but I think he can help any team he lands on."
On the Rockets drafting Mingming:
"This selection would be classic. He's 7-foot-8, 360 pounds and would give Houston the most intimidating twin towers of all-time with him and Yao Ming. I think it's a brilliant plan."
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