Jalen Pickett

Jalen Pickett is the long game personified — five college seasons across Siena and Penn State, drafted 32nd in 2023, then a patient climb up Denver's depth chart. A 6-foot-2 pass-first guard, he's less about burst than feel: he reads coverages, makes the extra pass and slows the game to his tempo, the kind of steady hand a contending bench values. In 2025-26 he carved out a real rotation role, appearing in 50 games with 18 starts, though the scoring stayed modest around five points a night with the occasional flash — a 29-point, seven-triple explosion against Philadelphia in January. Denver declined his team option this offseason, so as of July 2026 he's an unrestricted free agent, his crafty, low-turnover game likely appealing to a team needing backup playmaking rather than shot creation.