There has been a lot of buzz and hype around Nuggets' rookie, DaRon Holmes II, but based on early reports and preseason usage, he may not start the season in the rotation. Denver traded up last year to draft Holmes 22nd overall out of Dayton, but he tore his achilles in the first game of summer league, and missed the entire season.
He rehabbed all offseason and was ready for the 2025 summer league, making quite an impression and quickly showing he was too good for that level of competition. It seemed like Holmes was ready to make an impact and would be a major weapon as an athletic big man with an inside/outside game.
But training camp reports had the Nuggets and David Adelman rolling out a second unit featuring Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther, Tim Hardaway Jr., Peyton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas.
Similar things played out in the preseason games, and Holmes didn’t get off the bench until deeper into the game when most of the deep reserves were coming in. Obviously, none of this is set in stone, but we know that the Nuggets aren’t going to play 12 guys a game, and that means at least one or two players will be on the outside looking in, at least to start the season.
Holmes may have to earn his way into rotation
So, it seems like Holmes may have to be patient and earn his way into nightly minutes. Denver already has Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jonas Valanciunas, and Peyton Watson, who can play in the frontcourt. All of those guys have plenty of NBA experience and are likely to be playing heavy minutes.
The Nuggets aren’t going to be patiently developing players and living through growing pains; they are trying to win now at all costs. Unfortunately, that may not fit Holmes’ needs this season as he tries to get comfortable after his surgery and find his footing in the NBA.
At some point, as the season goes on, there will inevitably be injuries and other circumstances, and Holmes will get his chance, but it may not happen for a while. There is still plenty of excitement and optimism long-term around Holmes, and hope that he can be an X-Factor for this team.
But it looks like we may have to wait to see it. Nuggets fans shouldn’t lose faith in Holmes or start thinking he’s a bust or anything like that, but they need to be patient, and we may not see this plan come to fruition any time soon.