<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">General manager Kiki Vandeweghe has presided over the Denver Nuggets for four NBA drafts. He has made trades each time on draft night. The latest came Tuesday. The Nuggets drafted North Carolina State shooting guard Julius Hodge with the No. 20 pick and Georgia Tech point guard Jarrett Jack with the No. 22 pick. They then shipped Jack to Portland for two players drafted by the Trail Blazers. The Nuggets got Missouri forward Linas Kleiza, who was drafted No. 27, and forward Ricky Sanchez, a high school player from IMG Academies' Basketball Academy in Florida who had been taken No. 35. "We got a lot of pieces," Vandeweghe said. "The theme of this is we got basketball players who are more glue guys that do the little things that make other players better." In the second round, the Nuggets selected Belgium forward Axel Hervelle with the No. 52 pick. He is under contract to Real Madrid in Spain and is expected to remain overseas next season. While Hodge is a lock, Kleiza also is expected to make next season's roster. The Nuggets might have Sanchez play overseas or in the National Basketball Development League. The 6-foot-7 Hodge averaged 17 points as a senior. However, he slipped from his junior year, when he averaged 18.2 points and was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. "Definitely a great feeling, a feeling of jubilation," Hodge said of going to Denver. "The past two weeks, my brother (Steve) been telling me, 'Denver, Denver.' I've been saying, 'Bro, whoever gets me, it would be a blessing. I'll be very grateful.' For him to have that premonition of knowing I was going to be selected by Denver is kind of crazy. "I feel like it's a great situation. I'm very happy with it. I know I'm a guy that's going to go in and give 110 percent every night." </div> Source
