Bones Hyland has former team feeling regret they traded him after preseason debut

For the first time in 129 days (not including Summer League), there was a Timberwolves basketball game! Yes, it’s just preseason, and yes, Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and Mike Conley all sat out, but it was still an outing for the diehards to enjoy. Played in San Diego, Minnesota was able to defeat a rival in the Nuggets by the score of 126-116. It was also a win for Bones Hyland against his first NBA team, and he had a strong outing against his former club.

Bones Hyland scores game-high 18

While the 25-year-old Hyland was not in the starting lineup, his 18 points were the most by any player in the contest. Altogether, he played 22 minutes and shot 5-8 from the field, 3-4 from 3-point territory, and 5-6 from the free-throw line.

Despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, Hyland’s impact was felt by Timberwolves supporters and Nuggets fans that previously cheered him on when he was a member of their team. The four-year veteran scored 7 points in the first stanza, 5 in the second, and 6 in the third. 

The 6-foot-2 guard also grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and had a steal. There was just 1 turnover from Hyland,  which gave him essentially the same assist-to-turnover ratio that Minnesota had as a whole (32 assists, 11 turnovers).

Hyland was traded by the Nuggets in 2023

It was back in 2021 that the Nuggets selected Hyland out of VCU with the 26th overall pick. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact as he averaged 10.1 points in his rookie year and earned a place on the All-Rookie second team. 

His Denver run ended in frustration as his role began to dwindle. Hyland was inactive for 5 straight games before being traded to the Clippers at the 2023 trade deadline.

Hyland joined the Timberwolves late last season on a two-way deal and was re-signed late in the offseason. He got into just 4 games for Minnesota, scoring 5 points in 17 total minutes. 

So last night’s preseason game was easily the most action and production that Wolves fans got to see from Hyland while wearing the Minnesota uniform. It had to feel good for him to excel against his former team, even if it was just preseason.

Can more outings like this possibly allow Hyland to work his way into Chris Finch’s rotation? It’s probably unlikely, but not impossible. At the very least, it would allow Finch to feel more comfortable inserting Hyland into the game when his team isn’t at full strength.