Denver Nuggets are shopping Bones Hyland

Hyland is averaging 12.3 points, three assists, and 2.1 rebounds off the bench for Denver, as Jamal Murray's backup at point guard. But he's had a rough stretch recently. In the past three weeks, Hyland is scoring just seven points per game, shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range.

Denver has worked their way from being one of the league's worst defense to becoming middle-of-the-pack over the season. They're 15th in defensive rating and 13th in opponents' points per game. Hyland is one of the team's worst defenders, so he really has to be making shots to be effective.

Hyland has the ability to get red-hot as a shooter. But when he's not making shots, he can drag the offense down. that's why Denver has been going to Bruce Brown ahead of him off the bench, and Hyland is in danger of losing his rotation spot to rookie Christian Braun. He's a volume shooter, but too few of those shots come at the rim — less than 15 percent of his attempts come at the basket.

What does Denver want instead? Perhaps a young player who fits their roster better. The Timberwolves are rumored to be moving Naz Reid or Jaylen Nowell, but that doesn't feel like it offers nearly the upside of Hyland.

There should be no urgency to trade Hyland — the rotation is going to shorten in the playoffs anyway. Unless there's a truly special player coming back, it feels like a bad idea. And if it's for draft picks, that feels unusually conservative for a team that's leading the Western Conference.