Nuggets sign College Sharpshooter to two-way deal

Spencer Jones is joining the Denver Nuggets. According to Bennett Durango of the Denver Post, the undrafted Stanford forward has agreed to a two-way deal with the team. Jones was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers to their NBA Summer League team.

The Nuggets are signing Stanford’s Spencer Jones to their third two-way contract for next season, a league source says. @DenverPostThe 6-foot-7 forward shot 39.7% from 3 in a five-year college career. Denver likes his combination of size, skill and shooting.

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) July 20, 2024

With Jones’ two-way signing, Denver now has each of their three two-way slots filled. While he likely won’t play much at the NBA level, it seems smart to take a chance on him to see if he can develop further in the G League.

Nuggets sign College Sharpshooter to two-way deal

Jones spent five seasons with the Stanford Cardinal

The 23-year-old Jones took advantage of an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He spent five seasons at Stanford, from 2019-20 to 2023-24. He was a starter from the start, making 139 starts in his 146 college appearances. Those 146 outings put him atop Stamford’s all-time leaderboard.

The 7-foot-1 forward proved to be an accurate three-point shooter for much of his time there, making 39.7 percent of his three-point attempts in five years. He has twice made over 40 percent from deep (43.1 percent in 2019-20 and 40.9 percent in 2023-24). Jones has made 315 three-pointers overall, more than any other player to wear a Stanford jersey.

Jones played 29.1 minutes per game last season and averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks. In addition to his 40.9% three-point shooting, he made 43.8% of his field goal attempts and 64.5% from the charity stripe. Jones’ low percentage from the free throw line was an outlier compared to the rest of his career. He shot 75.0% from the free throw line in 2021-22, and Jones was at 74.6% the following season.

Nuggets appear to have already locked in their 2024-25 roster

As mentioned, with the signing of Jones, Denver now has the maximum of three players on two-way contracts. The other two on the list with two-way deals are also undrafted rookies. They are guard Trey Alexander of Creighton and forward P.J. Hall of Clemson.

It also appears that the Nuggets will soon have the maximum of 15 players on standard deals as well. This will become a reality once the reported Russell Westbrook move goes through after he clears waivers.

While some of the same pieces from Denver’s 2023 championship team remain, they are missing one starter from that title run. Starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed with the Orlando Magic during the offseason. Third-year player Christian Braun is expected to take his spot in the starting lineup.

The bench is different, too. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, two of their top reserves that championship year, signed with other teams the following offseason. Braun will move off the bench and into the starting lineup. Julian Strawther, a 2023 first-round pick, will likely play a bigger role. Dario Saric was signed in free agency and should be in their bench rotation. Vlatko Cancar will return after missing all of last season with knee surgery. Westbrook, of course, will soak up minutes behind Jamal Murray.

Unfortunately, there’s one player Denver won’t have to play off the bench: 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes. He tore his Achilles tendon, an injury that’s expected to sideline him for the entire season. Holmes was set to replace Nikola Jokic.