Strike 1: If you were one of the many Denver Nuggets fans who tuned in to see the team compete in the recently completed NBA Summer League, and you were expecting to watch a guy the team drafted who was supposed to be someone who could provide quality minutes at the backup center spot – allowing Nikola Jokic to get some much needed rest every night – well, you didn’t see that. Not at all.

DaRon Holmes – who was out with an injury for the entire 2024-25 season year after being the team’s first round pick in 2024 – played his first meaningful minutes in almost exactly one year. What he showed is that he’s got a much better chance at replacing the recently departed Michael Porter Jr. than he does at ever playing the center spot for the Nuggets.

Thank goodness the new Nuggets brain trust was able to acquire and lock in Jonas Valančiūnas.

It’s totally unfair to try to evaluate a player’s overall worth based on a few summer league games, especially after that guy blew out his achilles tendon in his summer league debut last July. Holmes was kicking off a lot of rust in Vegas, and it won’t be until training camp arrives in a couple of months that any real accurate evaluations can take place. That will be when the Nuggets brain trust will determine if and how Holmes can help the 2025-26 Nuggets.

But it won’t be as a backup for Jokic. Probably not for Aaron Gordon, either.

What didn’t stay in Vegas were things that were very evident: A player’s body type and skill set. The svelte Holmes isn’t built for the low post, and didn’t appear comfortable doing much of his work in the paint. That was clear early on when he took up residence on the perimeter and was not shy about hoisting 3-pointers.

He’s not built to bang.

To be fair, the center position has changed dramatically over the past decade plus. NBA centers don’t camp on the low block and play mostly with their backs to the basket anymore. The last standout big man to do that was Shaquille O’Neal, and he retired in 2011. Today you won’t find more than a handful of prominent centers who aren’t legit threats from the 3-point line. Guys need to be versatile.

Joker is the new prototype, equally adept at backing down his opponents in the paint or playing the high pick and roll game. That’s much more Valančiūnas’ style of play. The Nuggets will substitute accordingly.

Holmes meanwhile has the same body type as MPJ. Both are listed at 6-foot-10, with Holmes a few pounds heavier at 225 pounds. Both missed their planned rookie seasons after suffering season-ending injuries. Both can get to the hoop, but will start out near the 3-point line, facing the basket.

MPJ was and is the much more polished shooter, while Holmes should be able to provide more help side defense. Nuggets fans will have to hope that Holmes can contribute on the glass the way MPJ did in his final few seasons in Denver.

What all this means is that Holmes would look to be in the mix for bench minutes along with Payton Watson much more so than coming in for Aaron Gordon. While the Nuggets bench – on paper – appears to be vastly improved, finding a role for Holmes among the younger reserves will be something very interesting to watch this fall.