SALT LAKE CITY – Clippers guard Bones Hyland took some responsibility for the way his time ended recently in Denver but lamented how little communication there was between him and the coaching staff before he was traded.
“I feel like I had great communication with the front office,” Hyland said on Friday, speaking from the Rising Stars news conference. “Talked to them a lot. It was moreso just coaching staff. Just talking to me, just letting me know what’s going on. Stuff like that. I feel like it was just so low. I’m just going into the locker room every game, just not knowing. As professional athletes, as a coach, you talk to your players, let them know what’s going on. Even if you don’t, at least another coach come to you and stuff like that. I just feel like I didn’t have anything like that.”
Hyland was dealt shortly before the trade deadline to the Los Angeles Clippers for two second-round picks, which wasn’t much return on a promising second-year player who made two consecutive Rising Stars games.
“Yeah, I feel like it could’ve been done better on both ends,” he said. “Just more communication. I’ve got so much love for Denver, but I just feel like the communication was just so low. I had a lot of mixed emotions, and we didn’t come together and just make it better.”
In the aftermath of Denver’s road game in Minnesota, where Hyland didn’t play on the second night of a back-to-back despite four starters not even making the trip, he had a long conversation with Michael Porter Jr. that offered a window into the support he was getting.
“Me and MPJ had a long talk on the plane,” Hyland said. “A long talk. ‘Man, I wish we could make it better, I want you here,’ and stuff like that. I feel like a lot of the players, they can vouch for me. You can ask them how they feel about me and stuff like that. My character speaks for itself. It just goes a long way. A lot of teammates want me there, something I feel like it was the wrong timing.”
Hyland said DeAndre Jordan was there for him, too.
Much was made of his relationship with Jamal Murray, though Hyland said any tension was largely made up. The Denver Post reported friction between Murray and Hyland’s playing styles, which was part of the reason for the trade in the first place.
“Mally hit me (after the trade),” Hyland said. “He sent me a long message, man. … It felt like wrong timing. He sent me a long, thoughtful message and a heartfelt message, man. That’s really my guy, for sure. It’s one of (things) where those are like my brothers over there. You move on. You got to go on with your career, but at the same time, there’s so much love for them.”
Hyland said a lot of the outside noise wasn’t a genuine reflection of what was really happening.
“The guys in the locker room know the type of kid that I am,” he said. “We just were laughing at a lot of those tweets and stuff like that. I feel like the outside was just running with whatever they wanted to run with. Whether it was me and Mally … If you see me and Mally, you’ll see us laughing on the bench.
“That’s just not for act,” he continued. “Literally laughing in the locker room and stuff like that. … That’s just something I feel like I didn’t have to address but once it kept going up, they’re just making something out of nothing.”
In the wake of the trade, Hyland said he felt like he knew the business end of basketball better than before. He also added he felt like all that has happened would make him more mature.
“Just not letting little things get to me, because I’m the type of kid, like, I’m so passionate and I care so much,” he said. “Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me. Some certain stuff I just can’t let get to me. I got to be able to control my emotions with certain things and stuff like that.”
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