New Intel on Nuggets' DaRon Holmes, Summer League Participation

It appears that one of the Denver Nuggets' more appealing young players on their roster, 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes, won't be a part of their summer league action in Las Vegas later this week.

According to Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette, while Holmes is practicing with the Nuggets' summer league roster in the days leading up to their four-game slate kicking off on Friday, he is not expected to participate on gameday.

DaRon Holmes II is participating in the scrimmage but won’t be playing in Las Vegas.
— Vinny Benedetto (@VBenedetto) July 6, 2026

It's a bit of a surprise development surrounding the Nuggets' rookie from this past season, who was limited in his on-court reps with their main NBA roster, and was mainly a part of Denver's G League roster in his first full year healthy.

Holmes, of course, had suffered a season-ending Achilles injury leading up to the 2024-25 campaign that left him rehabbing in his first year pro, and delaying his rookie season––technically––for 2025-26.

In the 25 games he played with the Nuggets' main roster, he averaged just over eight minutes a night for 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while shooting 50.8% from the field and 44.4% from three. He was efficient in those opportunities, but those minutes were pretty limited, all things considered.

Oct 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Denver Nuggets forward DaRon Holmes II (14) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It doesn't appear that Holmes is dealing with any injury troubles leading up to the summer league, at least on the surface.

Given that he's able to at least participate in scrimmages, it tends to hint that he's healthy, but the Nuggets have decided to hold him out of the upcoming games for the next two weeks for other reasons.

However, the focus for Holmes seems to be getting him ready for next season, a critical year for his young career, in other ways, rather than getting him live, in-game reps. It's not uncommon for teams to take that route for some of their younger players, and that seems to be the approach that Denver is taking for their 22nd-overall pick from two summers ago.

Who Will Be Playing in Nuggets' Summer League?

As to who will be participating in the Nuggets' summer league, two surefire bets for who will be appearing on the floor will be their most recent rookie additions from the 2026 draft.

35th-overall pick Trevon Brazile, and 49th-overall pick Bryce Hopkins are participating in Denver scrimmages, and should be expected to suit up for their upcoming four-game slate; both of which will be getting their feet wet for their first reps in Nuggets uniforms, and give fans a bit of an initial look of what they have to offer.

K.J. Simpson could be another name expected to participate this coming week as well. He's only in the third year of his NBA career and is still signed onto a two-way deal with Denver for the 2026-27 campaign. If the Nuggets want to see more out of their 24-year-old guard, now would be the perfect time to get a glimpse of his skillset during an in-game setting.

The Nuggets' full summer league roster will likely be uncovered in the recent days to provide a bit more clarity on what to expect. However, don't expect to see DaRon Holmes as a name on that list.

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