Denver Nuggets: Bones Hyland and the importance of drafting

When the Denver Nuggets drafted Bones Hyland with the 26th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, most fans were excited. Hyland plays an exciting brand of basketball and if Tim Connelly’s track record was anything to go off, Bones was going to be legit.

The pick was a bit out of left field. The Nuggets needed a defensive wing or backup big man in the offseason and the draft looked like a nice place to start.

Denver took Bones and as an offensive, thin guard, he didn’t figure much in the Nuggets rotation this season. Michael Malone, since helping this team become a playoff staple, hasn’t been the most experimental coach, opting for older veterans instead of young contributors in his time.

Nugg Love contributor Dennis Smith was one of the first to write about Bones’ potential role in the rotation. Not only was the season essentially lost with no Jamal Murray (and soon, no Michael Porter Jr.), but developmental minutes for a rookie could lead to an even deeper roster in 2022-23, when this team is at full strength,

But after months of playing behind Facundo Campazzo and in spot minutes, Bones has finally cracked the rotation full time and there’s no looking back.

The month of February has been the best of Hyland’s rookie season, he’s averaging 10.3 points per game while dishing out 2.6 assists in just under 20 minutes of action. He’s playing as the backup point guard but excelling both with the ball in his hands and around the starting unit.

The 21-year-old boasts a 24.1 usage percentage per Cleaning the Glass and while his shooting numbers are rather pedestrian, his ability to take (and make) shots off the dribble strikes enough fear into defenses to create openings.

After making big shot after big shot against the Toronto Raptors, it looks like Bones is here to stay. Monte Morris‘ concussion thrust Hyland into the starting lineup and even after Monte comes back, there’s no reason to believe the two can’t play together.

Speaking after the Toronto win, Mike Singer, The Denver Post, reported that Malone won’t hold back on playing Bones moving forward:

"“Malone has challenged Hyland to temper his highs and weather his lows as he matures, but the blue-collar coach can’t help but acknowledge his unique quickness, rare playmaking and his unyielding confidence.“Asked what was realistic to expect of Hyland down the stretch this season, Malone was honest as always: ‘I don’t like to ever put limitations on anybody,’ he said.”"

The addition of Bryn Forbes helps a lot with Bones’ development as well. This Nuggets team needed shooting and needed it in a bad way.

Zeke Nnaji is one of the better shooters in the league but as a backup big, he wasn’t going to close games for Denver. A backcourt of Monte, Austin Rivers, and Campazzo lacks volume outside shooting so a lot of pressure was put on Bones Hyland to be that guy.

With Forbes, Bones doesn’t have to be a spot-up shooter anymore, he can operate more with the ball in his hands and leave the spacing gig to others.

Although, it’s worth noting that he is a great shooter off the catch, so he’s able to play with and without the ball, making him versatile enough to join the starters or lead the bench. He’s draining 38 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per NBA.com’s tracking data.

As Ryan Blackburn, Denver Stiffs noted in his piece on Bones’ and Nnaji’s development, with more freedom to operate, we’re seeing the best version of Hyland this season:

"“The Nuggets have told Bones to be true to himself as a flamethrower of a shooter, and as a result, he’s averaging 13.7 threes attempted per 100 possessions. That not only leads the rookie class but ranks 11th in the entire NBA (500+ minutes played). His 34.6 percent 3-point percentage could probably stand to improve, but it’s only his rookie season after all.”"

Monte will return and slide Bones into his regular minute load, but the more Bones plays, the better he gets. It’s looking like another excellent draft selection for Connelly and the front office and being able to draft solid contributors late in the draft is a huge boost for this team’s title aspirations.

When the Denver Nuggets look to add to a healthy core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr., they can know that one of their backup guard spots is under contract for another three seasons. Compare that with other title contenders (*cough* LA Lakers) who have to sign ageing veterans to one-year deals, it’s tricky.

Bones is just another successful draft pick in a long list and now that Denver has solidified their role atop the Western Conference, it’s hitting on picks like this that could be the difference between winning it all or not.