The writing may already be on the wall for Denver Nuggets second-year guard Bones Hyland, who curiously removed all traces of the Nuggets from his social media bio amidst rumors that the team was looking to trade him.
Currently averaging 12.1 points and 3.0 assists in 19.5 minutes per game, Hyland has been dissatisfied with his role and inconsistent playing time. The disagreement has led to tensions between the 22-year-old and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who is already known to prefer giving minutes to veterans over younger players.
This week, it was reported that Bones would indeed welcome a trade to a new team as he eyes a larger role. Subsequently, Hyland was linked to the Minnesota Timberwolves, given that the Timberwolves recently hired former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly to be the president of their franchise. Connelly was the Nuggets' president of basketball operations when they drafted Bones out of VCU.
The Timberwolves were confirmed to be interested in Hyland by NBA insider Chris Haynes on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast. Haynes also reports that the Charlotte Hornets are among the teams interested in acquiring the combo guard.
In assessing his fit with the Hornets, Charlotte lost guard Malik Monk to the Sacramento Kings in the offseason and second-year guard James Bouknight isn't ready to be a consistent contributor. Given the similarity between he and Monk's styles, as well as the Hornets need for firepower in their backcourt, Bones could be an ideal fit for their team.
With the NBA trade deadline just seven days away, expect more news to come out of the Nuggets or Hylands camps, as both sides appear motivated to get a deal done.
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