Wind Chimes: The Nuggets' quiet trade deadline explained

Welcome to Wind Chimes, a notebook of reporting, observations and analysis from me about what I’ve seen, heard and talked to people around the team about over the last week.

Why the Nuggets stayed quiet at the deadline

With under an hour remaining before last Thursday’s trade deadline, the Nuggets were still pursuing deals to upgrade their roster, league sources told DNVR. But those trades didn’t ultimately come through, although Denver thought some were close, and the Nuggets exited the deadline with the same roster it entered with.

The Nuggets could have been more aggressive in their trade pursuits. They could have looked to throw more valuable players or draft picks into their offers. But Denver didn’t feel a need to be overly aggressive at this year’s deadline, I’m told. A key reason why: the potential returns of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. this season.

This is what Tim Connelly had to say on that subject on Altitude Radio last week.

“We’ve been extremely happy with how both have attacked rehab. It could not have gone better for either one thus far,” Connelly said. “We don’t want to put any timeframe on those guys. Ultimately, they’ll know when they can play. We’ll physically clear them at some point, hopefully in the not too distant future. And then it’s, ‘How do you feel?’ Our organization takes a lot of pride in treating our players as colleagues and empowering them. No one’s going to have a bigger say in when they return to the court than Jamal and Michael.”

Internally, Denver doesn’t have an expectation that one or both will return this season, I’m told. The Nuggets are not and will not put any pressure on either player to get back on the court this year. But there’s a lot of hope. There are a lot of positive feelings about how both are trending. And just the potential of Murray and Porter both returning this season eliminated some urgency to make a move just to make a move.

I’ve been writing in this space for a while now that I think both Murray and Porter return this season. To me, they look to two players who are working themselves back into playing condition and slowly ramping up to play again this season. That’s been my impression from the countless workouts I’ve watched them both go through. Murray and Porter will both be physically cleared sometime soon, as Connelly said. From there, it’s all about the individual player feeling comfortable enough to get back between the lines.

Here was Porter after practice last week. He looked great.

Michael Porter Jr. staying active after practice. #MileHighBasketball

Michael Malone said it’s possible MPJ plays again this season. pic.twitter.com/mM4P4iZokr

— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 11, 2022

And it’s not like Denver went this entire trade season without upgrading its roster. Less than one month ago the Nuggets dealt for Bryn Forbes, one of the best shooters available on the trade market. Denver gave up a second-round pick in that deal along with PJ Dozier and Bol Bol, who are both out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Bones Hyland is growing up

Last weekend was an eventful one for Bones Hyland. The rookie got the first start of his career (at point guard) Friday in Boston and played well but didn’t close the fourth quarter. Michael Malone said postgame that he regretted not putting Hyland back into the game late in regulation. Then on Saturday, Hyland started again and this time finished the fourth quarter as the Nuggets got one of their best wins of the season in Toronto against a red-hot Raptors team.

“The young man’s not scared. He’s not scared of the moment. He’s a tough kid,” Michael Malone said regarding Hyland. “Eleven points, four assists, four rebounds and we drew up a play late to get him and Nikola involved in a screen and roll. They doubled Nikola, and I wanted Bones to be that first guy in front of the double team. And there was no hesitation.”

The win over the Raptors was the most important NBA game Hyland has played so far. To start and then to play a significant role in closing out a tough team on the road will pay huge dividends for him down the road. The Nuggets are committed to Hyland, whether that’s at backup point guard, which he’ll slot back into when Monte Morris returns from concussion protocol, or as the starter, and are willing right now to play through his mistakes.

I loved this from Hyland agasint the Raptors. He turned it over trying to feed Jokic on a tough over-the-top entry pass in the first quarter but then executed a similar pass to get Jokic an important and-1 that gave Denver the lead with under five minutes left in the fourth.

“I’ve seen so much improvement since we made the decision to make him out backup point guard,” said Malone. “He does not lack for confidence. He’s got great quickness. You can’t teach speed in this league, and he can make plays that some of our guys just can’t make. He’s only going to get better. Experience is the best teacher, and these experiences are just going to allow him to mature and develop sooner rather than later.”

The kid’s growing up.

Question of the Week

Last week I asked you guys what would be your first move — basketball or non-basketball — if you owned the Nuggets. I liked this answer from DNVR Member Burly Joe:

“If I became the owner of the Nuggets I would host a Colorado celebrity basketball fundraiser. Colorado celebrities would come together and play basketball at Ball Arena, all ticket sales, concessions, and donations would do towards bettering mental health access in Colorado.”

I love the idea of a celebrity game that goes to a good cause. I also would love the idea of a celebrity-type game that includes past players. A lot of past Nuggets players still live in the Denver area.

That also brings me to one thing I’d change if I owned the Nuggets. I’d make it a point to do a better job of honoring the franchise’s past players and coaches. During the 2017-18 season, the Nuggets hosted four “Decade Nights” that highlighted players, teams and coaches from each era of team history as part of the team’s 50th anniversary season. Every one was awesome. The Nuggets even got Allen Iverson to show up (the behind-the-scenes version of Iverson’s arrival at the arena that night is another story for another day).

But other than that year, I don’t think the Nuggets have done a great job celebrating their history. In fact, most NBA teams don’t do a good enough job in that department. That’s one thing I’d change.

Here’s this week’s question.

If you played sports, what number did you wear and why did you wear it?

Leave your answer in the comments section below.