Bones Hyland was developing into a gunner off the bench for Denver, a second-year guard averaging 12.1 points a game and shooting 37.8% from 3. The kind of player teams are looking for, an affordable contributor with the potential to grow into something more.
Nuggets GM Calvin Booth traded him to the Clippers at the last trade deadline for Thomas Bryant and a couple of second-round draft picks. Why? Booth was shockingly honest about that in a discussion with the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor about building — and the challenges of maintaining with the new salary cap — a dynasty in Denver, and why in his mind Michael Porter Jr. stayed and Hyland was out.
One of Booth’s first moves was to trade Bones Hyland, a young bucket-getting guard who came off the bench but didn’t offer a lot other than scoring. Despite being so young and showing promise, Hyland was dealt for just two second-round picks. The Nuggets didn’t want too much of the same thing on their team.
“I knew you couldn’t have two guys that couldn’t guard, and we couldn’t have two guys that were young and kind of more ‘me guys,’” Booth said. “Mike makes $30 million. He’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. So, Bones, there’s no place for you.”
Harsh. And he thought, we have two great shooters, let’s keep the more expensive one?
However, it’s the ruthlessness with which front offices have to think sometimes.
Hyland can become more than just a gunner off the bench and will get that opportunity with the Clippers this season, who will ask a lot of him backing up Russell Westbrook. But the fact is that MPJ is a 6'10" sharpshooter and, while he is not a great defender, his size covers up some of his issues in a way 6'3" Hyland cannot.
It’s worth reading O’Conner’s entire story, which gets into the challenge that not only Denver faces now but also Milwaukee, Boston, Golden State, Phoenix and other teams — a new CBA designed to make it almost impossible to keep a powerhouse team together (whether you drafted all your talent or not).
