The Denver Nuggets announced this morning that they have recalled their 2017 first round pick Tyler Lydon from the NBA’s G League.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are not Denver’s G League affiliate, as the Nuggets are one of the few remaining teams without a G League team of their own, so this may simply be a roster management issue. The Nuggets have placed three players in the G League at this point, with Monte Morris also playing on the Valley Vipers and Torrey Craig with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Both of the latter are on two-way contracts however while Lydon’s is a fully guaranteed rookie deal, so his negotiated G League time is likely different than theirs.
Tyler Lydon got minutes in both games the Valley Vipers have played so far, averaging just over 16 minutes a contest, averaging 4.5 points on 4.5 shots per game. Whether the Nuggets have a deal with with the Valley Vipers for a specific number of games he is allowed to play with that team is not known, but it’s unlikely that Lydon is being called back to get regular minutes with the Nuggets. There are still too many power forwards for that, and playing him off-position at small forward also seems like a stretch at this point and with his minimal experience level at the 3.
Consider his season to be much like Malik Beasley’s last year: a year to ride the bench, learn, and keep the rust off with several short G League stints as the season moves on. Hopefully he can dance and wave a towel as well as Beasley did last year – and be as ready for some contributing minutes the following year.
