NBA trade grades: Who wins the Detroit Pistons-Denver Nuggets deal for Bol Bol?
Can Bol Bol help the Detroit Pistons in a larger role than he has played over the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Denver Nuggets?
The son of longtime NBA player Manute Bol has played just 328 minutes thus far with the Nuggets, who drafted him in the second round in 2019 after his stunning fall down draft boards. Yet Bol's combination of perimeter skills on offense with 7-foot-2 size and ability to protect the rim has tantalized on occasions when he has gotten an opportunity.
Now, a trade to Detroit, reported Sunday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, should give Bol more opportunity to translate his potential into production. In return, Denver will get journeyman wing Rodney McGruder and a second-round pick likely to fall late in this year's draft.
What kind of role can we expect for Bol, 22, in Detroit, and how might he perform based on the limited amount we've seen from him so far? How could the Nuggets benefit from making this move? Let's break down the implications of the trade.
The deal
Pistons get: Bol Bol
Nuggets get: Rodney McGruder, 2022 second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Detroit Pistons: B+
It's been a long time since Bol has seen consistent playing time. After nine promising games as a freshman at Oregon, Bol suffered a stress fracture of his left navicular, ending his lone college season. Since December 2018, Bol has played just 482 minutes of competitive game action -- 328 with Denver and an additional 154 in the G League.
As a result, most of what we know about Bol's game is based on the late stages of blowouts (202 of those NBA minutes have come in the fourth quarter) and the 88 minutes Bol played in three scrimmages leading up to the bubble restart of the 2019-20 season.
Those scrimmages probably represent the purest distillation of Bol's potential and flaws. He averaged 13.7 points and 3.0 blocks while making two 3s per game at a 35% clip, but he also had nearly twice as many turnovers as assists and shot just 43% on 2-point attempts.
In some ways, Bol might be too skilled for his benefit, preferring to try to make plays off the dribble and score when he'd be better off simplifying his offensive game. Those mistakes were surely a big factor in Nuggets coach Michael Malone's reluctance to make Bol a rotation player even as the team was hit hard by injuries (and recently by players in the health and safety protocols).
On a Detroit team with the league's worst point differential (minus-9.7 PPG) and the league's No. 29 offensive rating, Bol will get more room to explore the studio space. In particular, his ability as a stretch big could be useful for the Pistons with Kelly Olynyk -- signed to fill that role -- sidelined. Detroit's other post players who shoot 3s, Luka Garza (32%) and Trey Lyles (30%), haven't been accurate enough to draw much attention.
The odds of Bol being a difference-maker are low, but so is the cost. McGruder had played just 161 minutes this season and doesn't hold much value to a rebuilding team at age 30, while the second-round pick from Brooklyn the Pistons are sending out would be 55th overall if the season ended today.
If Bol does flash, he'll be a restricted free agent this summer and Detroit would have full Bird rights to re-sign him.
Denver Nuggets: B+
For the Nuggets, getting anything of value for Bol is probably a win at this point. Swapping him for a wing also better balances the team's roster with Vlatko Cancar, Markus Howard, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. all sidelined by long-term injuries.
As noted on Twitter by ESPN's Bobby Marks, this swap gives Denver a tad bit more room under the luxury tax line. Because McGruder is on a one-year deal for the veterans minimum, his cap hit ($1.7 million) is smaller than Bol's ($2.1 million) despite the fact that Bol is also on a minimum deal.
Lastly, the Nuggets could benefit more than most teams from a pick near the end of the second round. Denver will surely be in the luxury tax with Porter's max extension kicking in and a second-round pick signed for the rookie minimum counts less against the tax than a player signed as a free agent. The Nuggets did not previously have a second-rounder in this year's draft.
NBA trade grades: Who wins the Detroit Pistons-Denver Nuggets deal for Bol Bol?
Can Bol Bol help the Detroit Pistons in a larger role than he has played over the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Denver Nuggets?
The son of longtime NBA player Manute Bol has played just 328 minutes thus far with the Nuggets, who drafted him in the second round in 2019 after his stunning fall down draft boards. Yet Bol's combination of perimeter skills on offense with 7-foot-2 size and ability to protect the rim has tantalized on occasions when he has gotten an opportunity.
Now, a trade to Detroit, reported Sunday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, should give Bol more opportunity to translate his potential into production. In return, Denver will get journeyman wing Rodney McGruder and a second-round pick likely to fall late in this year's draft.
What kind of role can we expect for Bol, 22, in Detroit, and how might he perform based on the limited amount we've seen from him so far? How could the Nuggets benefit from making this move? Let's break down the implications of the trade.
The deal
Pistons get: Bol Bol
Nuggets get: Rodney McGruder, 2022 second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Detroit Pistons: B+
It's been a long time since Bol has seen consistent playing time. After nine promising games as a freshman at Oregon, Bol suffered a stress fracture of his left navicular, ending his lone college season. Since December 2018, Bol has played just 482 minutes of competitive game action -- 328 with Denver and an additional 154 in the G League.
As a result, most of what we know about Bol's game is based on the late stages of blowouts (202 of those NBA minutes have come in the fourth quarter) and the 88 minutes Bol played in three scrimmages leading up to the bubble restart of the 2019-20 season.
Those scrimmages probably represent the purest distillation of Bol's potential and flaws. He averaged 13.7 points and 3.0 blocks while making two 3s per game at a 35% clip, but he also had nearly twice as many turnovers as assists and shot just 43% on 2-point attempts.
In some ways, Bol might be too skilled for his benefit, preferring to try to make plays off the dribble and score when he'd be better off simplifying his offensive game. Those mistakes were surely a big factor in Nuggets coach Michael Malone's reluctance to make Bol a rotation player even as the team was hit hard by injuries (and recently by players in the health and safety protocols).
On a Detroit team with the league's worst point differential (minus-9.7 PPG) and the league's No. 29 offensive rating, Bol will get more room to explore the studio space. In particular, his ability as a stretch big could be useful for the Pistons with Kelly Olynyk -- signed to fill that role -- sidelined. Detroit's other post players who shoot 3s, Luka Garza (32%) and Trey Lyles (30%), haven't been accurate enough to draw much attention.
The odds of Bol being a difference-maker are low, but so is the cost. McGruder had played just 161 minutes this season and doesn't hold much value to a rebuilding team at age 30, while the second-round pick from Brooklyn the Pistons are sending out would be 55th overall if the season ended today.
If Bol does flash, he'll be a restricted free agent this summer and Detroit would have full Bird rights to re-sign him.
Denver Nuggets: B+
For the Nuggets, getting anything of value for Bol is probably a win at this point. Swapping him for a wing also better balances the team's roster with Vlatko Cancar, Markus Howard, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. all sidelined by long-term injuries.
As noted on Twitter by ESPN's Bobby Marks, this swap gives Denver a tad bit more room under the luxury tax line. Because McGruder is on a one-year deal for the veterans minimum, his cap hit ($1.7 million) is smaller than Bol's ($2.1 million) despite the fact that Bol is also on a minimum deal.
Lastly, the Nuggets could benefit more than most teams from a pick near the end of the second round. Denver will surely be in the luxury tax with Porter's max extension kicking in and a second-round pick signed for the rookie minimum counts less against the tax than a player signed as a free agent. The Nuggets did not previously have a second-rounder in this year's draft.
