Nuggets' perfect addition may be coming from unexpected injury return

The Nuggets sat by helplessly as the NBA trade deadline passed. The front office desperately wanted to upgrade the roster, but they simply didn’t have the assets to make any competitive offers. As a result, Denver watched players they coveted continuously get dealt to their competitors.

It was a frustrating pattern and one that was wholly created by the Nuggets’ own ineptitude, mismanaging the salary cap and carelessly trading away picks for the last few years. It’s incredibly annoying as Nikola Jokic is putting together yet another MVP-caliber season and his teammates seem to be getting healthy and playing better around him.

The team is clearly close to contention, but they are also still likely a piece or two short. There’s still a chance they could add a player in the buyout market - and they should. But those options are limited and imperfect, plus that would require the Nuggets to cut someone on the current roster with a guaranteed deal.

But perhaps, there is now a sliver of hope that reinforcements may be coming from an unexpected source. The Nuggets practiced for the first time after the All-Star break on Wednesday and they got some shocking and promising injury news.

DaRon Holmes participates in Nuggets practice

Michael Malone surprised many fans and media members when he announced that Nuggets first round pick DaRon Holmes II was able to participate in parts of practice on Wednesday. Holmes tore his achilles during his first Summer League game and was ruled out for the season shortly after.

Holmes quickly had surgery and has been rehabbing ever since, but a return to practice is a huge step. The Nuggets traded three valuable second-round picks to move up and draft Holmes in the draft as they viewed him as a perfect complement to their frontcourt players Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic.

Holmes has size, athleticism, and skill to play inside and out and give this team productive two-way minutes at the four or five. In theory, Holmes would have been the ideal backup big man to slot into this rotation, bringing it all together and maybe now there is still some hope for that.

Nuggets fans shouldn’t get their hopes up just yet as Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette reported that Holmes is still expected to miss the rest of the season. But the fact that it’s still mid February and he’s already practicing is incredible news.

The team certainly will want to be cautious with a rookie coming off major surgery, but if he’s ready to play, he’s ready to play. The Nuggets traded a lot to get Holmes and they were very excited about how he would fit into the lineup. It’s a long shot, but it’s better than no shot and Holmes could truly be the last piece of this championship puzzle in Denver.