The Denver Nuggets are rolling at the moment, and they look every bit the part of a championship contender. With Nikola Jokic leading the way with his nightly dominance and Jamal Murray looking more like his pre-injury self with each passing game, the Nuggets have the requisite star power to compete with the best teams in the NBA.
However, despite the Nuggets’ excellent 35-16 record at the time of writing, they are still on the prowl for potential upgrades with the NBA trade deadline looming ever so closely. In particular, the Nuggets reportedly view trading away backup point guard Bones Hyland as an avenue to plug in more pressing needs in their lineup at the moment.
The Nuggets’ rationale for putting Hyland on the trade block is clear. Hyland is a 6’3 guard whose main asset is creating shots for himself from deep – something that won’t be of too much use to the Nuggets in a deep playoff run. Moreover, his lack of size and strength means that head coach Michael Malone would end up favoring either Bruce Brown or Christian Braun – solid defenders – come postseason time.
Even then, Bones Hyland’s value to the Nuggets remains ironclad. After all, the Nuggets have a strong insurance policy in Hyland for Jamal Murray, who, despite his strong play as of late, still has to miss a few games here and there due to injury maintenance.
Thus, the Nuggets will not just give up the scoring guard for scraps. Teams who are interested in swinging a trade for an explosive scoring guard with potential to become something more will have to give up something of value in return.
With that said, here are four ideal destinations for Bones Hyland with the NBA trade deadline looming.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns appear to be right back on track, just in time to further muck up an already-congested Western Conference playoff picture. Following a horrific 2-10 stretch since their Christmas day loss, the Suns have now won six of their past seven games as they continue to stem the tide amid Devin Booker’s absence.
Nevertheless, the Suns clearly still have some unresolved business leading up to the trade deadline. They have yet to trade Jae Crowder, and they remain highly interested in bolstering their wing positions. However, with Bones Hyland’s reported availability, the Suns should jump all over the chance to add a point guard that could potentially be starting-caliber.
There were reports stating that the Suns are looking to bolster their floor general situation all the while acquiring someone who could take over for Chris Paul when he calls it quits. Hyland could be that guy. He needs to improve his shot selection, and round out his game beyond firing from distance, but scorers of his caliber that are as young as he is don’t become available in trades very often.
