The Nuggets had the future in mind when they obtained Slovenian guard Sani Becirovic and Chinese forward-center Xue Yuyang in the second round in Thursday's NBA draft. Denver selected Becirovic with the 46th pick overall in the second round. The 6-foot-5, 197-pounder has played professionally in Slovenia and Italy, but knee injuries forced Virtus Bologna in Italy to waive him in November 2002.

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Becirovic had surgeries on both knees to realign a growth defect in a tendon and is about "40 percent" recovered. Vandeweghe added that Becirovic, 22, who will play for Kinder Bologna in Italy next season, could be considered as a roster candidate in another year.

The Dallas Mavericks drafted Yuyang with the 57th pick before trading his rights to Denver for a 2004 second-round pick. Yuyang averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds last season for the Hong Kong Flying Dragons in the China Basketball Association.

The 7-0, 210-pounder recently was named to China's national team and was the China Basketball Association's 2002 rookie of the year. Vandeweghe said the 21-year-old was two or three years away from being considered a roster candidate.

Via Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, NBA Draft

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