Trey Lyles opens up about demotion with Paul Millsap back in Nuggets' rotation

DENVER — Following Tuesday’s shootaround, Nuggets coach Michael Malone pulled Trey Lyles aside to have a difficult conversation.

Later that night against the Clippers, Paul Millsap would return for the first time since he underwent reconstructive surgery to repair his left wrist in November. After missing 44 games, Millsap was ready to go. While that was good for the Nuggets, it also meant Lyles’ minutes were going to get slashed.

“‘You’re going to get affected,'” Malone told him. “‘I’m still going to play you tonight, but you’re not going to get your regular minutes. Just like you’ve done all year long, stay positive, stay ready, keep working.'”

Lyles ended up playing five minutes in the 122-120 loss the Clippers. He took three shots and missed all of them. It was a big adjustment for a player who picked up so much of the slack in Millsap’s absence.

“It’s definitely frustrating, but playing behind an All-Star power forward you’ve got to take what you can get,” Lyles said. “Knowing that he’s back, I realize that. I’m not happy with it, but I’m going to do the best I can for the team and help them win and be a good teammate and a good professional.”

In the 44 games Millsap missed, Lyles stepped in and averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 24.6 minutes. He made nearly half the shots he took (49.8 percent FG) and more than 40 percent of his three-point attempts (40.1 percent).

He’s playing the best basketball of his career. Still, he saw his playing time dramatically reduced in Millsap’s first game back in the rotation.

“I grabbed him after practice again as well and said, ‘Five minutes. I know that’s not what you want,'” Malone said. “‘Paul’s coming back. Once we get Paul back into the starting lineup, you’ll get back to your more consistent minutes.'” Trey is great. For Trey to not play at all in the beginning of the year, and then for Paul to go down and for him to play at the level he played at speaks to his professionalism, him staying ready and having a very positive mindset.”

Millsap came off the bench in Tuesday’s loss. He played well, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking a pair of shots in 24 minutes. Millsap registered a 47.5 DPR (BSN Denver’s in-house Dynamic Player Rating) Tuesday — just shy of his 59.4 season average.

Malone said Thursday he’d like to reintegrate Millsap into the starting lineup “sometime next week.” When that happens, Wilson Chandler will likely slide back to starting small forward, and Will Barton will return to the bench.

If it plays out that way, Denver would role out a five-man starting unit of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Chandler, Millsap and Nikola Jokic that is outscoring opponents by 12.4 points per 100 possessions. It’d also mean Malone can go to Devin Harris, Barton, Lyles and Mason Plumlee off the bench.

Lyles is understandably frustrated he’ll play a smaller role moving forward. After two up-and-down seasons in Utah, the 22-year-old was finally finding his footing in Denver. Reintegrating a four-time All-Star has ripple effects, though. Lyles understands.

“I knew once Paul got back into the rotation, my minutes were going to get cut some,” Lyles said. “I’ve been preparing for it. It happened the other day, so I’m going to continue to doing what I did before when I wasn’t getting many minutes. When I get my opportunity, I’ll do what I’m supposed to.”