Denver traded as much as draft DaRon Holmes II. Now, his rookie season seems to be over after only one Summer season League recreation.
Holmes was the No. 22 choose in June’s NBA draft after a stellar school profession at Dayton, the place he was a second-team All-American and the Atlantic 10’s Defensive Participant of the Yr. Denver thought a lot of Holmes that it despatched three second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns to maneuver up six spots and nab him.
However throughout his very first recreation in a Nuggets uniform, Holmes suffered a tear of his proper Achilles tendon, an harm that’s anticipated to maintain him on the sidelines for no less than the following season. This after a debut when he scored 11 factors and confirmed off a superb exterior shot.
Denver’s technique for the previous two summers has been to amass gamers in the midst of the draft to complement its high-priced roster. With the NBA’s new punitive guidelines for groups who spend, Denver has tried to search out younger contributors on inexpensive offers. It succeeded with Christian Braun and, to a level, Peyton Watson.
However with Braun changing the departed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver was banking on Holmes to again up reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Holmes’ pace and three-point capturing even made it potential that he might play alongside the Joker with out sacrificing spacing.
Now, Holmes is out till 2025, and the Nuggets are out a entrance courtroom participant who appeared like he might get critical minutes as a rookie. They’ll get a disabled participant exception, however given Holmes’ low wage, it can solely give the Nuggets slightly over $1.5M to discover a alternative.
For a workforce whose lack of measurement and depth was uncovered in a second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s a tricky blow, although not as robust as it’s for Holmes.
He’ll be rehabbing a devastating harm as a substitute of chasing a title with the Nuggets all due to a meaningless exhibition recreation. For a 21-year-old who landed in a dream scenario, Holmes’ rookie season has changed into a nightmare.
