Bones Hyland takes shots at Nuggets, Murray in first Clippers appearance

If there’s one thing Denver knows about Bones Hyland, he likes to get up shots. He took two on Monday, throwing the Nuggets and Jamal Murray under the bus in his first time speaking while wearing Clippers’ blue.

Once thought to be a star in Denver and a soon-to-be Nuggets fan favorite for years, a nasty split between Hyland and the team saw him traded ahead of Thursday’s deadline. There were rumblings of beef between him and fellow point guard Murray. That beef seems to have been confirmed when Hyland not-so-subtly said the Clippers have two phenomenal talents to Denver’s one.

Bones Hyland was asked about playing with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and now Kawhi and PG:

“It was a great experience playing with Joker. Two guys over here who are phenomenal talents, and over there there’s one guy with phenomenal talent as well.” pic.twitter.com/dL6Yr93kKN

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) February 13, 2023

Hyland doubled down, taking maybe a shot at Nikola Jokic even. Touting his own playmaking and saying he never really got a chance to do that in Denver. Hyland should make his Clippers debut Tuesday night.

"I felt like I never had the opportunity to showcase my playmaking ability & be able to play that point guard role a lot and show that I'm just more than just a scorer. I'm actually a point guard. And I offer that at a high level."

– New Clippers guard Bones Hyland pic.twitter.com/rrJOkLYwml

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 13, 2023

The comments even further justify the four-team trade that shipped out the young guard and landed Thomas Bryant. The relationship must’ve been untenable for each side and Hyland is certainly not winning any Nuggets fans back over since the trade. Making a comment on Instagram about how the Clippers flew him to L.A. private, which he inferred Denver would not do.

Hyland had been out of the Nuggets rotation for several games as his situation very quickly derailed. The 2021 first-round draft pick from VCU quickly became a key contributor last season. His electric playing style, engaging personality and ability to hit from far out made him stand out. In nearly 20 minutes a game, he scored 10 points per night on 37% from deep.

Ahead of his sophomore season, the Nuggets traded longtime backup point guard Monte Morris, clearing the way for Hyland to keep getting playing time now behind Murray since he returned from a knee injury that kept him out all of Hyland’s rookie season. The wiry 6-3 ball-handler has upped his scoring and improved his shooting. But occasional playmaking woes and consistently lackluster defense played Hyland out of the Nuggets rotation as well as an event where he left the bench and possibly the arena in the middle of a game. Hyland was punished for this but did not accept only worsening the relationship between him, his teammates and the Nuggets.

Murray meanwhile has been spectacular and has only gotten better as the season has progressed, finding his pre-injury form. Murray and Jokic’s two-man game which dominates Denver’s offense did leave Hyland on the outside of the Nuggets scoring engine.

The Nuggets have the best record in the NBA’s western conference. Rookie Christian Braun stepped in for Hyland, supplying good defense, hustle and a knockdown shot. Hyland’s backup point guard job has been taken over by utilityman Bruce Brown, who has slid over from his usual wing. And Denver is set to bring in former Clipper Reggie Jackson to play Hyland’s old role.

The Nuggets could very well meet the middling Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, the last time the two teams met Jokic and Murray led Denver to a 3-1 series comeback in advancing to the west final.

The entire situation has played out similarly to the way Jusuf Nurkic left town.

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