Given the opportunity to compare his game to anyone in the NBA, the names spilling from Justise Winslow’s mouth were almost all shooting guards.

James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Wesley Matthews, he said.

And yet Winslow is projected as a small forward.

Versatility is the name of the game for Winslow, who measured 6-foot-4½ and 222 pounds at the draft combine. Intensity and a winner’s mentality are also part of the makeup of a player who averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in his one season at Duke.

“I feel like I can do it all,” Winslow said. “So whatever they ask me to do, just try to do it to the best of my ability.”

Winslow was in town for a workout with the Nuggets on June 10. His best projected draft window starts with the No. 5 selection and extends through No. 8. He is coveted by many teams, including the Nuggets.

Winslow’s upside is all about the defense

Defense, defense, defense.

Getting after it on the defensive end of the court is Winslow’s calling card. And it’s not only his ability to be a top-tier, one-on-one defender, but how he enhances team defensive concepts. He is a player who almost always makes the right decisions on defensive rotations, can switch onto almost any opponent, and has great instincts — he knows when to gamble and when to stay solid. He will instantly bolster any team’s defense.

Offensively, he is very good in transition and attacks the rim with ferocity. His ability to handle the ball can give a team an option of having him bring it up and make decisions, similar to how Golden State used Andre Iguodala in the NBA Finals, which gave Stephen Curry time off the ball.

Winslow will grow into a locker room leader, which the Nuggets need. And he loves the gym. He has a reputation of being a gym rat, which bodes well for future growth.

Winslow’s downside has been his shooting

He spent the bulk of his predraft workouts trying to show he can be a knock-down shooter, and he has a lot of growth potential in that area. He did improve immensely in shooting the basketball between his senior year in high school and his freshman year at Duke.

Winslow hit 41.4 percent of his 3-point shots last season for the Blue Devils, and that jumped to 57.1 percent during the Blue Devils’ run to the national title. Still, he can be better, particularly from range and in pull-up jump shots. Finishing over longer players has been an issue as well, so he will have to navigate his way through those waters.

Does Winslow fit what the Nuggets need?

Though he could give a team minutes at the two guard as well, getting Winslow on the court would mean carving out space at small forward, most likely via trade. He would immediately help defensively for new Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who coaches the defensive end as well as anyone. For a team that wants its defense to spark fast breaks, Winslow is the perfect choice.

Coming Tuesday:

Willie Cauley-Stein.

Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey @denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost