The trade that Nuggets fans were waiting for weeks for has finally come to fruition. The Bones Hyland saga has come to a close with a trade that won’t make many fans happy. Where most were hoping for a rotation player in return.
However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Nuggets are trading Bones Hyland to the Clippers. All the Nuggets are receiving in return is two second round picks, one in 2024 and one in 2025. A lackluster haul for what seemed like Denver’s rising star.
The Nuggets trading Bones for two likely late second round picks shows that they probably saw him as someone that needed to be moved. They saw it as addition by subtraction, but if they run into the Clippers in the playoffs it could come bite them in the butt.
He seems like the sort of player to take things like this personally, and has shown that he can swing playoff games. There was good reason to trade him, but obviously his value was tanked with how this was handled on both sides.
Bones walking off the court mid game was a bad, bad look. It probably tanked his value, but the coaching staff not playing him probably kept it low. It all happened very quickly in the public eye, but there was likely tensions rising up the entire season.
If Bones was an issue in the locker room, then this trade makes a bit more sense. However, in a vacuum this is really bad business. It just seems like his value could have rebounded after a while, or he would be more useful than two seconds. However, the Nuggets decided that those picks and an open roster spot would be better.
Ultimately, the Bones Hyland experience was one with high highs, but low lows. He likely wouldn’t have helped the Nuggets much in the postseason, but this is the side of the business that fans don’t see. Off court tensions can ruin things, and the Nuggets didn’t want to have Bones around anymore.
The move isn’t one that many are a fan of, but the value of Bones on the open market had plummeted. The Nuggets still have half an hour to get moves done, but it seems like this is likely all they will do at the deadline. The true value of this trade will come after the buyout market establishes itself, and what the Nuggets do with their open roster spot becomes apparent.