Nuggets’ DaRon Holmes II is ‘full go’ for Summer League return from torn Achilles
As aggressive as the Nuggets have been with roster changes this offseason one of their the bulk intriguing and mysterious additions will be someone who was already on the unit DaRon Holmes II won t have any injury-related limitations on his minutes when he returns from a torn right Achilles tendon this week Nuggets Summer League coach Andrew Munson mentioned Holmes is Denver s greater part anticipated aspect of the Summer League squad He was drafted nd overall last year with a pick that cost the Nuggets three future second-rounders His combination of size defensive versatility and perimeter shooting was too tantalizing for former general manager Calvin Booth to resist And he had just started to display his prospective last July at the NBA s annual showcase event for young players when his rookie ambitions came to a screeching halt The season-ending injury occurred late in the fourth quarter of his Summer League debut at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas Now he ll try again on Thursday p m MT in the same stuffy gymnasium at UNLV Denver opens against the Milwaukee Bucks He s had a pretty solid build-up to this point stated Munson an assistant coach who was tapped to lead the Summer League unit for the second consecutive year He s played with our guys the bulk of the summer He s not going to play minutes per competition and we don t have any back-to-backs to worry about but he should be pretty much full go this summer The Nuggets didn t have a pick in the NBA draft last month leaving Holmes and Hunter Tyson as the only players on their -man roster who ll be competing in Vegas alongside undrafted rookies and G League hopefuls They ll play five games over the syllabus of about a week Listed at -foot- and pounds Holmes place on the frontcourt depth chart is somewhat murky He s a little on the short side to be a full-time backup center for Nikola Jokic but he has more competition at power forward between Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson both of whom have been used at the four in past seasons We want to see him do a little bit of both play the four and the five Munson announced See if he can switch onto specific guards Holmes has acknowledged before that power forward is his more natural position but he s trying to embrace expected minutes at the five with open arms After all the Nuggets have a latest history of disconnect over which position Nnaji should play with a similar body type Booth perpetually insisted he needed to be a four while former coach Michael Malone often played him at center The franchise is under new management these days Still Holmes recognizes versatility will be essential Anywhere they put me I ll be settled playing the Dayton alum noted I spent a lot of summer time playing the five I trust what the coaches have I trust this unit the organization Aside from his ability to switch on screens and defend in space his -pointer will also be put to the test in a meeting ecosystem for the first time in a year It s an asset he fully added to his encounter during his final season of college basketball when he shot on attempts per competition Proving that it wasn t a one-year outlier remains a vital component as he hopes to carve out a long NBA career And injury rehab can be an obstacle when trying to maintain the effective mechanics of that shot It can be pretty arduous because you have to trust what the trainers are saying while recovering Holmes commented So if they re like Hey we don t want you coming back in the gym tonight rest your legs rest your Achilles I might try to fight back and say no I want to get shots up But I have to listen to what they have to say They went to school for eight-plus years doing that I grew up playing basketball So that s the fight It s more of a mental thing But I listen to what they have to say And I trust my form I ve been still getting up shots but I listen if they say to rest Related Articles Renck vs Keeler Does Nuggets Jamal Murray have the worst contract in Colorado sports Nuggets assistant Ryan Bowen to replace Andre Miller as Grand Rapids Gold coach Nuggets trying to keep Jonas Valanciunas despite EuroLeague offer What are their center options if he leaves Nuggets newcomer Cam Johnson s path to NBA stardom paved by hard work smarts He s savvy Renck Greatest season for Colorado pro sports is staring us in face save for Rockies of program He still firmly believes the shot has been improving all this time That makes sense though coming from maybe the most of positive person I ve ever met in my life as Munson describes Holmes Rust is to be expected on Thursday but the -year-old is even looking forward to that Anything to be back on the court It s going to be fun he declared It s going to be exciting I ll make particular new mistakes Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis
