When the Denver Nuggets acquired Trey Lyles in a draft-night trade with the Utah Jazz, it was known the 21-year-old forward was going to struggle to find minutes in the rotation. With the glut of power forwards that Denver has on its roster, Lyles was expected to be sitting on the bench this season with the majority of his playing time typically coming in garbage time.
With Paul Millsap out for the foreseeable future after undergoing a successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, a door has opened for Lyles to springboard himself into the rotation while the 2017-18 season is still somewhat young.
Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone has admitted that the reason Lyles has not seen the court is mainly due to the teams’ logjam at forward. With that being declared, Malone also says Lyles has been lying in wait for a chance to breakout this season.
“I think he’s been chomping at the bit waiting for this chance,” Malone explained, “I know that Trey is going to go out there and take advantage of every opportunity he’s given; so I’m happy for him.”
Malone praised Lyles for his ability to maintain a strong work ethic despite being out of Denver’s gameplan entirely which, in turn, gives Malone confidence that he can plug Lyles into lineups with relative ease.
“The reason I’m happy is because he has stayed mentally and physically ready for this opportunity,” Malone said. “That is why I have no doubt he’ll be able to go out there and play at a high level for us.”
Staying in game shape while not seeing game minutes is a tough task, but one Malone says Lyles embraced rather than complain. Lyles willingness to buy in is a testament to the evolving culture the Nuggets are working to instill. The ‘next man up’ attitude and team-first mindset are what the Nuggets have built their culture on and is what Lyles represents.
“Work,” Malone said of how Lyles managed to stay prepared. “He didn’t feel sorry for himself; he didn’t drop his head. He didn’t have that self-pity that I hate to see.”
Also, the mutual understanding has helped keep the communication between Lyles and Malone at a premium considering the circumstances.
“We talked,” Malone said in regards to explaining to Lyles why he has not seen consistent court time. “I think communication helps guys through that. Letting him know this is why you are not playing. The fact that he stayed ready and has the mental toughness to say ‘Ok, right now is not my time, but I got to stay ready because I don’t know when my time is going to come’.”
Now, it is up to Lyles to take advantage of the newly presented opportunity, which he’s already started to do. His length and athleticism is ideal for the Nuggets system and will help keep things consistent on both ends of the court.
Lyles is averaging 7 points and 4.6 rebounds in his last five games and has filled his role nicely while showing signs of improvement on defense. Lyles also serves as a floor-spacer on the bench unit now as he plays alongside Emmanuel Mudiay and Mason Plumlee, both of whom are non-shooters. With Millsap hurt and Kenneth Faried now slotted into the starting power forward role, it seems Lyles will likely see most of his minutes paired with Mason Plumlee which is a tandem that coach Malone has acknowledged he likes.
With the Nuggets next five games against the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks, Lyles will have plenty of opportunities to earn minutes within Denver’s rotation while Millsap is out while shaping a role for him down the line.
