The Bol Bol experiment is over with the Denver Nuggets. After being drafted in the second round in 2019, playing sparingly and seemingly being gifted a roster spot this season, he has been traded to the Detroit Pistons.
Bol Bol has been traded for Rodney McGruder and a 2022 second-round pick via the Brooklyn Nets according to Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN. The report is written to read as an acquisition for the Pistons, but it’s a great opportunity for the Nuggets to clear a roster spot.
Entering this season, there was a solid opportunity for backup big man minutes behind the MVP, Nikola Jokic and it looks like a combination of Zeke Nnaji, JaMychal Green, and Jeff Green is the route Michael Malone is going.
Rodney McGruder might be seen as a throw-in with this deal but he could get an opportunity to play for a roster spot early in his tenure. With DeMarcus Cousins signing with Denver on a 10-day contract, he won’t count as a used roster spot for the entire 10 days (including the following 10 days when he likely signs a second deal).
Every team needs help on the wing and if McGruder can play, he could carve out a role in a Nuggets jersey. Unfortunately for him, the most likely outcome of this deal is Boogie being signed to a guaranteed deal if all things go well.
But back to Bol Bol, the Senegalese-American prospect entered the league with tantalizing physical talent and a bevvy of college highlights and three years after being drafted, we’re facing the exact same player.
It’s funny that one of the last highlights we’ll ever see of Bol in a Denver Nuggets jersey is him as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll. Just an absurd thing to see from a seven-footer, even if it was against the feuding Houston Rockets.
https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1477477360140046336?s=20
At the end of the day, drafting Bol Bol late in the second round wasn’t a bad gamble. It didn’t lead to much on-court production, his career averages of 2.7 points and 47.8 shooting from the floor don’t scream effective, but he brought a fun buzz to the fanbase.
A team like Detroit is ideal for Bol. There will be no playoff expectations in the Motor City for the foreseeable future and with plenty of minutes to go around, he can make mistakes on the court that Malone just couldn’t afford to let him do.
As Mike Singer, The Denver Post wrote in his report of the trade:
"“Behind the scenes, it was impossible to know why Bol never fully earned Malone’s trust, as other forwards jumped Bol on the depth chart. But when he did play, his engagement and focus often waned, which undoubtedly contributed to his sparse playing time.“Privately, even some of Bol’s teammates wondered why he hadn’t gotten a bigger chance to prove himself. He’ll get that in Detroit, where the Pistons are in complete rebuilding mode.”"
Moving forward, will this roster spot be won by Cousins or another player? It’s a battle that will be fun to watch and the price for setting up the battle is a 2022 second-round pick, not a bad piece of business.