Nuggets’ top pick’s rookie season likely over before it began

Denver traded up to draft DaRon Holmes II. Now, his rookie season appears to be over after just one Summer League game.

Holmes was the No. 22 pick in June’s NBA draft after a stellar college career at Dayton, where he was a second-team All-American and the Atlantic 10’s Defensive Player of the Year. Denver thought so much of Holmes that it sent three second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns to move up six spots and nab him.

But during his very first game in a Nuggets uniform, Holmes suffered a tear of his right Achilles tendon, an injury that is expected to keep him on the sidelines for at least the next season. This after a debut when he scored 11 points and showed off an excellent outside shot.

Denver’s strategy for the past two summers has been to acquire players in the middle of the draft to supplement its high-priced roster. With the NBA’s new punitive rules for teams who spend, Denver has tried to find young contributors on affordable deals. It succeeded with Christian Braun and, to a degree, Peyton Watson.

But with Braun replacing the departed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver was banking on Holmes to back up reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Holmes’ speed and three-point shooting even made it possible that he could play alongside the Joker without sacrificing spacing.

Now, Holmes is out until 2025, and the Nuggets are out a front court player who looked like he could get serious minutes as a rookie. They’ll get a disabled player exception, but given Holmes’ low salary, it will only give the Nuggets a little over $1.5M to find a replacement.

For a team whose lack of size and depth was exposed in a second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s a tough blow, though not as tough as it is for Holmes.

He’ll be rehabbing a devastating injury instead of chasing a title with the Nuggets all because of a meaningless exhibition game. For a 21-year-old who landed in a dream situation, Holmes’ rookie season has turned into a nightmare.