The 2023 NBA trade deadline is officially in the books. Many organizations made moves that can change the course of their seasons, while others only made minor trades to address some needs ahead of the playoffs. That is the case for the Denver Nuggets.

They only brought in Thomas Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade on February 9th. The big man arrives as the likely main backup to Nikola Jokic for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. In 41 games this season, Bryant is averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds. He is shooting 65.4% from the field, 44% from beyond the arc and 74.1% from the free-throw line.

While Bryant can certainly help, Denver lost some players to make this deal happen. One of them might become a regret depending on how he plays for his new team.

With that being said, here is the Denver Nuggets' biggest mistake at the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

Denver Nuggets 2023 NBA trade deadline mistake: Moving Bones Hyland

To acquire Bryant, the Nuggets were involved in a four-team trade with the Lakers, LA Clippers and Orlando Magic. Denver sent Davon Reed and a second-round pick to the Lakers while sending another second-rounder to the Magic. Most notably, the team also traded away Bones Hyland to the Clippers.

The Nuggets selected Hyland with the No. 26 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. In his last season at VCU, he was a First-team All-Atlantic 10 member and the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

In his first year in the league, Hyland appeared in 69 games and started in four of them. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in just 19 minutes a night, shooting 40.3% from the field, 36.6% from the 3-point line and 85.6% from the charity stripe.

For his performance, Hyland earned a selection to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He became the first Denver rookie to make it to an All-Rookie Team since Jamal Murray in the 2016-17 season. Many fans considered him the former VCU Ram one of the biggest steals of the draft.

Hyland ended up having a big role in his first year because Murray missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a knee injury. For 2022-23, many expected the young guard to take a big jump. However, things did not go as well as expected.

In 42 games with the Nuggets this season, Hyland averaged 12.1 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 boards, with shooting splits of 40-38-86. His paying time barely increased compared to his rookie season, too.

Additionally, with the return of Murray, Hyland played a smaller role for Denver than expected. This likely ended up creating frustrations between Hyland and the organization. In a game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder in January, he walked off the bench after playing only 11 minutes.

With hopes for a larger role, Denver agreed to trade him to a new organization. With the Clippers, Hyland could be one of the main guards on the roster since the team traded away John Wall.

Although their relationship was not the best recently, trading a 22-year-old guard in just his second year in the league could go down as a mistake for the Nuggets. If the team was certain it wanted to trade him away, it probably could have acquired more than just a backup center—plus two second-round picks—on an expiring deal.

At the end of the day, a new beginning for Hyland could be the best move for his career. For the Nuggets, losing him could be something they might regret very soon. If he reaches his ceiling as a dynamic scorer and playmaker in Los Angeles, a la Lou Williams, Denver will have parted with a player who would be key to maximizing the team's title hopes during Jokic's prime.