LAS VEGAS — One of the first phone calls that Bones Hyland placed after the Nuggets selected him with the No. 26 overall pick was to Denver’s top free agent priority.
Hyland first met Will Barton when he was in high school at an AAU tournament. Hyland’s team, Baltimore’s Finest, was playing the club that Barton backs, Team Thrill, in New York. Barton was sitting courtside for the matchup and the two struck up a conversation during the game. They’ve kept in touch over the last few years.
During the call, Hyland pitched Barton on a Denver return and that it would mean a lot to him if the two got the chance to play together. Hyland said he’d love to share the court with the nine-year veteran and for Barton to teach him the ropes of the league.
Once free agency opened, Hyland got his wish. The Nuggets and Barton quickly agreed to a two-year, $32 million deal that would keep the 30-year-old in Denver and in the same locker room as the Nuggets’ rookie.
“He’s like a big brother to me,” Hyland said.
Just how much Barton and Hyland will share the floor this coming season remains to be seen. The Nuggets are deep in the backcourt even with Jamal Murray expected to miss the first chunk of the year. Hyland will likely spend a lot of time — at least early on next season — in the G League with the Grand Rapids Gold.
But when he does eventually get his shot with the Nuggets, expect fireworks. Hyland made his Nuggets debut Tuesday at Summer League and absolutely lived up to the hype. The rookie finished with 16 points (5-11 FG’s, 2-7 3 FG’s), 2 rebounds and 7 assists in 25 minutes despite touching down in Las Vegas a mere three hours before the Nuggets tipped off against the Celtics at Thomas & Mack Center.
Hyland played largely off of instincts Tuesday and without a great grasp of Denver’s Summer League playbook. He had been held up in the NBA’s health and safety protocols after the Nuggets had a player return a positive test early last week, and even though Hyland continued to test negative over the next several days, per NBA rules he wasn’t allowed to be around his teammates or coaches.
“He’s just a hooper,” Summer League head coach Charles Klask said. “He’s a baller. I think you could drop him in any gym anywhere and he’s going to find his way. He sees the game.”
On Monday night, the Nuggets finally got confirmation that Hyland, Zeke Nnaji and others could join the rest of the team at Summer League. Their flight landed in Las Vegas at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Hyland got his bags, eat, went through a long film session at 1:30 p.m. and then slipped on a Nuggets uniform for the first time.
“Just having a Nuggets jersey on, it felt like, ‘Wow!'” Hyland said. “‘Now I’ve made it, you know. It felt good.”
Hyland showed off his complete offensive repertoire Tuesday. He flashed a quick first step and got by his defender and into the paint on multiple occasions. Hyland set up Bol Bol for a few easy baskets at the rim and quickly developed a pick-and-roll chemistry with Denver’s big man.
The 6-foot-3 guard’s first, second and third priorities last season at VCU were to score and carry pretty much all of the offensive load for an underwhelming supporting cast. But Hyland began to prove Tuesday that he can also play more of a classic point guard role when surrounded by NBA talent.
“He’s a scorer, but he’s not just a blinders-on scorer where he doesn’t see anyone else,” Klask said. “He also likes to pass. A lot of natural scorers, they’re kind of geared in one direction. But he’s not like that. He’s a complete offensive player.”
Hyland was frustrated by his 2-7 performance from 3-point range vs. Boston, but I’m chalking up that off-shooting game to how accelerated his arrival and Summer League debut was. He also wasn’t able to play much 5-on-5 basketball while in contact tracing over the last week.
Hyland hit 40% of his 3s while at VCU and shoots an incredibly easy ball. He has an effortless shooting motion regardless of how deep he’s launching from. Hyland projects to be a very good NBA shooter with deep, deep range.
He’s at ease even when shooting from 30-feet out and sunk a triple from that distance in the third quarter vs. Boston. Hyland has always had that range too. When Hyland was 11-years-old, he scored 50 points in a game and hit a 3-pointer from a step inside the half-court line.
“You’re special,” Hyland said his uncle told him after that game. “I was just like, ‘Yeah, I know,’ I can hit those.”
“I practice those shots all the time. It’s natural for me.”
Hyland’s shooting profile is partly why the Nuggets fell in love with him during the pre-draft process. He’s also a natural bucket-getter who’s as competitive as they come, hates to lose, and lives in the gym.
The Wilmington, Delaware native is 100% genuine and authentic too. The Nuggets and Hyland made a real connection during their pre-draft interview and you get the impression that Hyland is ecstatic that he landed in Denver and is excited to be on this team and surrounded by this group of players.
Hyland and Barton had similar upbringings. They both came from tough neighborhoods but emerged as champions of their respective cities. In his free time, Hyland has gone back and watched YouTube highlights of Murray dropping 50 points in Game 6 vs. Utah during the 2020 playoffs. Tuesday against the Celtics, Michael Porter Jr., who was sitting courtside for the game, encouraged Hyland to keep letting it fly from three after he misfired on a couple shots in a row.
“He saw I wasn’t making my shots. He was like, ‘You’re good boy. Keep shooting.’ They’ve got the confidence in me. They know I can make shots,” said Hyland. “To hear that, it gave me more confidence to keep going.”
Playing with better talent and within an NBA style offense will benefit Hyland too. He’s going to take full advantage of the NBA’s wider driving lanes and increased spacing. Hyland remarked after the Nuggets’ loss that the spacing he had to work with was one of his major takeaways from his debut.
Hyland’s a natural and instinctual scorer and playmaker but defensively is where he’ll need to improve the most. Getting familiar with NBA defensive terminology, reads, and schemes can be a steep leaning curve for rookies. The Nuggets believe he’ll be a willing study in the film room.
Hyland says he wants to put in the work. He knows he’s young but is eager to soak up the tricks of the NBA trade.
“I’m just out there enjoying the moment,” Hyland said. “I’m just taking everything in.”
“I’m a sponge.”
