Nuggets GM calls Holmes a ‘guy with a lot of game’

“What do you think about playing for the Nuggets?” he was asked.

“Oh, yeah, that’s perfect,” Holmes said. “Great fit. I saw something that I get free saucy (nuggets) from Wendy’s. That’s pretty cool.”

Earlier in the day, the official Wendy’s account on X (Twitter) offered free saucy nuggets for a year to whoever becomes a Nugget.

Then Holmes was asked, “When you get to Denver, what’s the first thing you’re looking forward to to make it like home?”

“Probably an inhaler,” Holmes said.

Holmes has spent the last three years at lower elevations in Dayton but didn’t have any problems adjusting to the altitude in Salt Lake City during the NCAA tournament and should be fine in Denver, but his joke showed how comfortable he was in the spotlight in his first moments as a NBA player.

The NBA Summer League starts in July. The Nuggets played in Las Vegas, Nev., last year. Games in that league take place July 11-22 this year.

That likely will be Holmes’ first chance to work on earning a spot in the Nuggets’ rotation. Denver’s last first-round selection, Kansas guard Christian Braun, the No. 21 overall pick in 2022, averaged 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes per game as a rookie. In 2021, Denver drafted Virginia Commonwealth guard Bones Hyland at No. 28, and he averaged 10.1 points in 19.0 minutes per game as a rookie.

Braun has been a key reserve for the Nuggets in his first two seasons. The Nuggets traded Hyland to the Clippers midway through his second season.

Holmes will join a team that has the second-best odds of winning the NBA championship in 2025, according to the Las Vegas sportsbooks. Denver’s star, Nikola Jokić, is entering his 10th season and has won the NBA MVP three times in the last four seasons. The Nuggets won the NBA title in 2023.

Nuggets General Manager Calvin Booth called Holmes a “pretty prominent prospect” and a guy that “just has a lot of game” in a press conference with Denver media on Wednesday.

“I think the jump he took in skill in making 3-pointers took him to a different level as a prospect,” Booth said. “I just like guys that have to carry the load for the team. They won a lot. He played many different defenses that tried to shut him down. He has a lot of experience in pressure situations. He can play both sides of the ball.”

Booth expects Holmes to be a better defender in the NBA because he had to avoid getting in foul trouble at the college level. Holmes will have less responsibility for the Nuggets, Booth said, and won’t have to worry about that.

Offensively, Booth said Holmes “can pass, can shoot, can catch in tight spaces and make plays and make the little touch shots that (Jokić) makes.”

The Nuggets wanted Holmes so much they traded their No. 28 and No. 56 picks in this draft and two future second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns to move up to No. 22.

There were reports in recent weeks of Denver promising Holmes they would draft him. That’s why Holmes reportedly canceled workouts with other teams.

“It wasn’t necessarily a promise,” Booth said, “but once he got into the 20s and there was a chance to get him, we wanted to go get our guy, essentially. There were a lot of potential landmines between 22 and our pick, especially having a division rival in front of us that probably values the guy, too. So I think it was just important for us to get ahead and get our guy.”

Bennett Durando, of the Denver Post, reported the Nuggets traded up because they expected the Minnesota Timberwolves to draft Holmes with the No. 27 pick.

The Nuggets also liked Holmes because he has the ability to be ready for the league from Day 1.

“I don’t think all rookies are made the same,” Booth said. “You have the 18-19-year-old guys that may or may not have more upside, and then you have some other guys that are accomplished, that for all intents and purposes may be more ready for high-pressure NBA games than some guys on NBA rosters that have been in the league for two or three years. In that sense, I think DaRon is one of those guys. He has a high IQ. He knows how to play in different styles and different scenarios. I think he has a very good chance of being a plug-and-play guy.”

The Nuggets get athleticism, skill and a high IQ with Holmes, Booth said.

“Long term, DaRon has a chance to be a starting NBA four,” Booth said. “I think the league has become a little bit more physical. They’re allowing a little bit more contact on closeouts. We witnessed it in the Minnesota series. It’s a very physical game. In that style of NBA, I think he’s a four all day. I played in the era where there was Rasheed Wallace and Joe Smith and Cliff Robinson and all these different guys that were 6-10, 6-11. There was a period years ago where it would have been harder for some of those guys to play in this NBA where closeouts were so hard to guard because you couldn’t touch the guy. But I think where the NBA is going right now, I think he’s 100% a four.”

To earn playing time, Holmes will have to prove he can rebound and protect the rim, Booth said. There’s a learning curve for every rookie, he said.

“It’s going to be an adjustment,” Booth said. “When he gets his opportunity, he has to take advantage of it. He has to take care of his body, try to stay healthy. There’s all those different factors that come into breaking through, but I think he has the mind, the skill and the body to play right away.”

The Nuggets also drafted Holmes, Booth said, because they value character. Dayton coach Anthony Grant told Booth that Holmes is one of the best he’s had in that respect as a college coach.

“He’s humble,” Booth said of Holmes. “He loves to be in the gym. He’s going to keep his head down and basically just try to get better every single day. He’s like a lot of our other young guys that we brought in here. He’ll be a great fit.”