Former Nuggets first-round pick without a job clearly deserves to be signed

Seeing all the NBA retreads getting second, third, and even fourth chances with teams, it’s jarring that former Nugget, Bones Hyland, is currently unsigned. Hyland was drafted 26th overall by Denver in 2021 out of VCU, and he immediately showed his scoring prowess, putting up 10.1 points per game in 69 games as a rookie and following it up with 12.1 per game in his sophomore year, the 2022-23 season.

But Hyland wasn’t clicking in Denver and was shipped out after just 42 games in his second season. It seemed clear that Hyland was going to be a solid NBA player, and at worst, a good bench scorer, but the promising young player was unceremoniously dumped at the deadline.

The Nuggets went on to win a championship that season, while Hyland slowly fell out of the Clippers’ rotation. He was dumped again at the 2025 deadline to Atlanta and subsequently waived. He signed a two-way contract with the Timberwolves, but now, he’s a free agent, and there seems to be little, if any, market for the 24-year-old.

Hyland deserves another shot in the NBA

While he remains unsigned, Hyland has been busy on social media, posting about his preparedness and how he is ready to be playing again. Clearly, he may have had some maturity issues and worn out his welcome quickly on two veteran-laden, contending teams.

But he’s still young and deserves another shot. Hyland proved that he could play, making the All-Rookie team just three years ago. Perhaps, the last year or so has been a humbling experience for Bones, and he’s ready to buy into team culture and play a role that contributes to winning.

Nuggets not the right fit for Hyland

There’s simply too much talent here for no team to take that risk and find out. Having said that, the Nuggets should not be the team to take the risk. Denver has an open roster spot and a two-way spot, but we’ve seen this show, and it didn’t work. The roster is ready to win now, not develop young players who want to prove themselves.

But there are plenty of young, rebuilding teams around the NBA that could do a lot worse with the ends of their benches than signing Hyland. Bones has already shown to be a good NBA player, and it wasn’t that long ago. Theoretically, he’s still a few years away from even reaching his prime. He deserves another shot, and hopefully, he’ll get one soon.