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 rostered by the Portland Trail Blazers for their NBA Summer League squad.
The Nuggets are signing Stanford’s Spencer Jones as their third two-way contract for the upcoming season, league source tells @DenverPost. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 39.7% from 3 across a five-year college career. Denver likes his combination of size, skill and shooting.
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) July 20, 2024
With the two-way signing of Jones, Denver now has each of their three two-way slots occupied. While he probably won’t play much at the NBA level, it seems smart to take a flyer 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 being granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He spent five seasons with Stanford from 2019-20 to 2023-24. He was utilized as a starter from the get-go making 139 starts in his 146 college appearances. Those 146 outings place him atop the all-time Stamford leaderboard.
The six-foot-seven forward proved to be an accurate three-point shooter for much of his time there. Over the five years, he connected on 39.7% of his three-point tries. Twice, he made more than 40% from deep (43.1% in 2019-20 and 40.9% in 2023-24). Jones made 315 three-pointers altogether, more than any other player to don a Stanford jersey.
Playing 29.1 minutes per contest last season, Jones posted averages of 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 tries and 64.5% from the charity stripe. Jones’ low percentage from the foul line was an outlier when compared to the rest of his career. In 2021-22, he shot 75.0% from the free throw line, and the following season, Jones was at 74.6%.
Nuggets Appear To Have Their 2024-25 Roster Set
As mentioned, with the signing of Jones, Denver now has the maximum of three players on two-way contracts. The other two rostered on two-way deals are also undrafted rookies. They are guard Trey Alexander out of Creighton and forward PJ Hall out of Clemson.
It also appears that very soon the Nuggets will also have the maximum of 15 players on standard deals. This will come to fruition 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 during the offseason with the Orlando Magic. Third-year player Christian Braun is expected to take his spot in the starting lineup.
The bench is also different. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, two of their key reserves that championship year, signed with other teams the following offseason. Braun will move from the bench to the starting lineup. A first-round pick in 2023, Julian Strawther will likely play a larger role. Dario Saric was signed in free agency, and he should be in their bench rotation. Vlatko Cancar will be returning after missing all of last season due to knee surgery. Of course, Westbrook will soak up the minutes behind Jamal Murray.
Unfortunately, one player Denver won’t have to play off the bench is 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes. He tore his Achilles, an injury that is expected to keep him on the shelf all season. Holmes was expected to backup Nikola Jokic.
