Bones Hyland

Bones made a bold move when he asked to be traded from the Denver Nuggets last season, and it was one of the biggest mistakes any player made all season. Not only did Denver win a championship, but Hyland lost a backup point guard job with the Nuggets and wasn't a consistent part of the rotation after his trade to the Clippers. His volatility did not play well for coach Tyronn Lue. In his final 14 games of the year with the Clips, Hyland averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.9 threes across 19 minutes a night. The frustrating thing is that Bones is a talented player, averaging 16.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.3 steals in a four-game stretch near the end of the season. We all know he can go off at times, but he's not going to be a fantasy-relevant player unless this rotation thins out. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard dominate the usage, while Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell and Terance Mann need backcourt touches as well. That has made the Clippers a difficult team to trust over recent years, and we won't see Hyland play more than 20 minutes as long as this team is fully healthy.

Somewhat of a surprise during his rookie season, Hyland comes into the 2022-23 season having established himself as a crucial part of the Nuggets' rotation. Despite ending the season outside the top 200 in eight-category per-game fantasy production, Hyland finished the campaign strongly, deploying averages of 14.0 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 22.3 minutes across his final 20 appearances. With Jamal Murray likely to return from a knee injury that saw him miss the entire 2021-22 season, managers may need to slightly temper their expectations on draft day. That said, both Monte Morris and Will Barton are now out of the picture, opening up a larger, more consistent role for Hyland. Assuming Murray is good to go on opening night, Hyland should be a viable target in the later rounds of standard leagues.

Hyland was selected by the Nuggets with the 26th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year had an explosive sophomore season, averaging 19.5 points per game on 45/37/86 shooting splits. His dominant trait is three-point shooting, and he was comfortable shooting pull-ups and step-backs from range as well as being a catch-and-shoot threat. He also has the necessary handles to shake defenders who press up on him to prevent the three-ball, and the guard has the ability to finish near the basket. While he needs to work on tightening his handle and finding open teammates, the upside is clearly there for Hyland to develop into a microwave scorer. He might have a chance to break into the Nuggets' rotation early in the season, especially while Jamal Murray remains out.