Tyler Lydon was taken by the Utah Jazz with the 24th pick of the NBA Draft, and immediately shipped to the Denver Nuggets along with Trey Lyles in exchange for the No. 13 pick Donovan Mitchell.
The Juice Online’s Matt Dagostino and Wes Cheng break down Lydon’s draft night below:
MATT DAGOSTINO: After some publications predicted he would slip to the end of the first round or, perhaps, the second round, Syracuse forward Tyler Lydon got selected right around where he was originally slotted to go. Drafted 24th by the Utah Jazz, Lydon ended up getting traded to the Denver Nuggets, which seems to be a decent fit for him.
When you think of Lydon in Denver, think of Danilo Gallinari Lite. Gallinari, a free agent whom Denver has an interest in re-signing, has length, range, handle and some spring. While Lydon may be inferior to Gallinari in all most or all of those categories, he has a very similar skill set. He will benefit from Denver’s uptempo pace and should be a solid rotation piece for them. He’s capable of spacing the floor for Nikola Jokic down low, knocking down an outside shot and showing some athleticism on the defensive end.
Don’t expect big numbers, at least right away. But Lydon lands in a system that will cater to his skills.
» Related: Syracuse basketball has rich history of first round NBA Draft selections
WES CHENG: It’s clear that Tyler Lydon fits within the Denver philosophy based on a survey of its roster.
As part of the trade that brought Lydon over from Utah, the Nuggets also acquired forward Trey Lyles, who averaged 6.2 points and nearly three 3-point attempts per game. Combine that with another stretch 4, Juan Hernangomez, and you can see that Denver covets big men with shooting range.
So while that works well for Lydon in terms of his fit with the system, it also creates a log jam with several players holding the same skill set.
Denver also has Darrell Arthur on its bench, and many of the minutes at forward will be eaten up by starters Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari. (Though he’s currently an unrestricted free agent, Gallinari is likely to be re-signed by the Nuggets in the offseason.)
So to carve out time in the rotation, Lydon will need to leapfrog Hernangomez, Arthur and Lyles. Certainly not an impossible feat, but Lydon will not have it easy, either.
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