As NBA training camps quickly approach, the NBA free agent market has all but dried up. Still, there are a few intriguing players who have been kicking around along with the veteran retreads, and one of them officially found a home on Monday as Nashon “Bones” Hyland signed with the Timberwolves.
Just In: The Minnesota Timberwolves and Bones Hyland have agreed to a deal, league sources told @hoopshype. Hyland has averaged 9.5 points in four NBA seasons combined with the Nuggets, Clippers, and Timberwolves. pic.twitter.com/mos2KnLkA7
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 15, 2025
The Nuggets drafted Hyland 26th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, and Bones came in and immediately made an impact as a bench scorer. But he quickly wore out his welcome in Denver, and despite a promising start, he was dealt away for almost nothing after just a year and a half.
Even with all of the promise and early potential he showed in the league, Hyland hasn’t been able to carve out a meaningful role with a team and has bounced from the Clippers to the T-Wolves, making most of his appearances in garbage time.
He has been languishing on the market all summer, and there were some thoughts that he may have to take a deal overseas to recoup his value. But the Wolves want to keep some continuity in their locker room and decided to bring Bones back on a deal that is likely only partially guaranteed.
Hyland is running out of chances in the NBA
After averaging double figures in scoring over his first two years in the league, it’s hard to believe that Hyland is struggling to stay in the league just two years later, but here we are. Still just 24 years old, there is time for Bones to salvage his career, but his window of opportunity is closing quickly.
The last two seasons have not been kind to Hyland, and the fact that he was floating around as a free agent this deep into the summer shows exactly what the league thinks of him. There’s certainly hope that he can resurrect his young career, and we’ve all seen the talent obviously exists inside him.
But the NBA waits for no one, and if Bones can’t figure it out, he may be on his last chance. If Minnesota gives up on him, his next stop may be Europe. And sure, there’s a chance he could play his way back to the states, as we’ve seen with other first-round picks like Guerschon Yabusele, for example.
But those examples are few and far between, and you’d have to imagine it would be even more challenging for an undersized player like Hyland. For such a young player with so much promise, he’s got an awful lot riding on this upcoming season.