It had been rumored for weeks that DaRon Holmes II had a promise from the Nuggets to select him at no. 28. However, the Nuggets didn’t want to risk missing out on their guy. They traded their No. 28 and No. 56 picks in this draft alongside two future second-rounders to Phonix to get their guy Holmes II with the 22nd pick. Both sides wanted this pairing, with Holmes canceling workouts with other teams following his promise from the Nuggets.
2024 NBA Draft: The Nuggets Trade Up to Get Their Guy
Meet DaRon Holmes II
The 6’9″, 21-year-old center out of Dayton was extremely productive in his junior year. Holmes averaged 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks per game and earned the Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Year award. DaRon showed a much-improved shooting touch this past season. He increased both his volume and shooting percentage from three, connecting on 38% of his threes while taking two and a half per game. Holmes increased his free throw percentage and volume every year in college as well, showing real dedication to improving as a shooter.
Holmes is a vertical threat on both ends, using his 34-inch vert to swat shots on defense or exploding at the rim for dunks on offense. He is also great working out of the pick-and-roll, setting solid screens before rolling hard to the rim. At 236 pounds, Holmes is strong enough to finish through contact. DaRon has flashed the ability to create his own shot. Having a spin move and a pump fake he can go to out of the post.
Lacking Frontcourt Depth
The Nuggets were in dire need of front-court depth, having lacked a reliable backup center since 2019 when they lost Mason Plumlee. With no bigs off the bench coach Mike Malone trusts, he has been forced to burden Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon with big minutes throughout the past few seasons. That came back to bite them in the postseason, with Jokic and AG looking gassed by the second half of game seven against the Timberwolves.
The Nuggets and coach Malone have tried to fill these backup big minutes with a wide variety of players. They used both Zeke Nnaji and DeAndre Jordan at the backup five spot this season. Although Nnaji did have a few nice games overall he fell out of Malone’s circle of trust by the playoffs. Jordan is at the end of his career and is past playing impactful postseason minutes. Peyton Watson looked good off the bench at times during the regular season as a backup forward. But struggled to make an impact in the postseason. Barely seeing any playing time in the postseason.
Holmes’ Fit with Denver
Holmes fits perfectly with the Nuggets and will provide a new look at the backup five. ESPN described what Holmes can do on the court.
“Holmes can offer value as a screener in the pick-and-roll game who can shoot the ball, finish near the rim and defend multiple positions”.
Holmes will have a lot asked of him this year by the Nuggets who are looking to compete for another ring. The team will need his scoring and shooting off the bench. But most importantly they will need his size and shot-blocking to give AG and Jokic and break throughout the season.
