BSN Exclusive: Trey Lyles is brushing off the Donovan Mitchell chatter and thriving in Denver

Trey Lyles was about to sit down for dinner in mid-June when his phone started buzzing.

At the time, Lyles was back in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the Canadian city of roughly 250,000 where he spent the first six years of his life.

“It was my first time home in a long time,” Lyles told BSN Denver. “I was about to actually sit down and eat. I was watching the draft, and then I got a phone call and found out.”

Lyles’ agent informed him there had been a trade. The Utah Jazz, the team that picked him 12th overall in 2015, was sending him to the Nuggets in a draft-day deal. After two years in Salt Lake City, Lyles’ time there was over.

“I was surprised,” Lyles said. “Then I was excited. I wanted to come to Denver. I liked how the team played and the coaches and stuff like that.

“The uptempo pace. The freedom on offense. A young team that had a lot to live up to and guys that are capable of doing it. When I heard I was coming, it felt like I’d be able to fit right in and help the team out.”

Thirty-one games in with his new team, Lyles is beginning to find his footing. He’s shined since becoming a regular part of the rotation in mid-November. In his last 16 games, Lyles is averaging 11.8 points on 52 percent shooting and 5.4 rebounds in 23.5 minutes of floor time.

The 22-year-old was especially impressive on the Nuggets’ recent six-game road swing. He poured in a career-high 25 points against the Pacers on Nov. 10 and then scored 20 against the Pistons two nights later. On the last leg of the road trip in Boston, Lyles kicked off the game by throwing down a vicious dunk over Rookie of the Year candidate Jayson Tatum.

Lyles’ smooth offensive game has helped soften the blow of losing Paul Millsap. Lyles is knocking down three-pointers at a scorching 50 percent rate. In the month of December, he’s shooting 56.4 percent on 3.9 three-point attempts per game.

“He gets buckets,” shooting guard Gary Harris said. “That’s what Trey does. His offense has been great for us. So I’m happy to see him play well.”

Lyles scored 13 points in the fourth quarter of Denver’s come-from-behind win against the Pelicans on Friday. He hit three three-pointers in the final period alone, the last of which was a contested trey over Anthony Davis‘ outstretched arms.

On Wednesday against the Timberwolves, Lyles scored 15 points in 24 minutes — the sixth time he’d gone for 15 or more in 10 games this month.

“I’m just really confident,” Lyles said. “I know that I’m capable of making shots. I’m not hesitating when I have them available. And then just creating off of that. I feel really good right now. Probably the best I’ve felt on a team situation in a long time, since me being in the league at least.”

For the first month of the season, Lyles couldn’t crack the rotation. Denver had Millsap and a glut of other guys capable of playing power forward. During that time, Lyles also had to watch from afar as Donavan Mitchell, the player whose draft rights the Jazz selected when they traded Lyles away, burst out of the gates.

Mitchell scored 20 points or more five times in his first month in the NBA. After many of those outbursts, Jazz fans flooded Lyles’ Twitter mentions with snarky reminders about the trade.

“Of course you’re going to see it if you’re going through your Twitter feed and stuff, but I’ve been dealing with that stuff since high school,” Lyles said. “I’m used to it. It doesn’t bother me. I kind of just scroll right on past it. So I’m not worried about it.”

When Lyles learned about the trade in June, there was that initial feeling of shock. But Lyles found that shock quickly turned into excitement. He believed he was going to a place where he could grow. So far, that’s been the case in Denver.

“I’m feeling like I’m actually getting an opportunity to show what I’m capable of doing here,” Lyles said. “Coach is letting me go out there and play with freedom. I’m a better player when I have that kind of freedom, and I think that shows. I’m happy to have the opportunity and am going to continue the work that I’ve been doing.”