Denver Nuggets sign Monte Morris to a two-way contract

The Denver Nuggets have officially signed promising rookie point guard Monte Morris to a two-way contract.

The Denver Nuggets made it official today that they have signed rookie point guard Monte Morris to a two-way contract. Morris was the team’s second-round selection this summer where they selected him with the 51st pick. Morris was a big factor in the Nuggets’ Las Vegas Summer League and displayed great skills handling the ball and running the offense. He averaged 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and led the summer squad in assists at 4.3.

Morris had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the entire NCAA last season, recording 217 assists and only 42 turnovers. He’s more of a traditional point guard who will pass first and then score when he is needed, also earning All-Big 12 honors his senior season after averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 assists per game.

The two-way contract is new to the NBA this season and allows rosters to expand from 15 to 17 players. The two-way deal allows players a maximum of 45 days on the NBA roster and the rest of their time will be spent in the G-League. The contract will allow Morris to earn both a G-League salary and an NBA salary when he is on the Nuggets.

Each team is given two two-way contracts they can use and the Nuggets have already used them both. They used the first one last week when they signed summer league standout Torrey Craig and they now have 16 of their 17 roster spots filled. The last roster spot will presumably be filled by Mason Plumlee or another backup center.

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There’s no telling when or if Morris will get any time with the Nuggets next year cause of the loaded depth the Nuggets have at the point guard position. Morris is blocked by veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray. Morris would be an ideal replacement for the third point guard position as Nelson is ageing and could possibly become unhappy with playing time if he is indeed the third point guard on the team to start the season.

Since the Nuggets don’t have a G-League affiliation they will have to use the flexible assignment system. This system is in place for teams that don’t have affiliates and simply places players on teams that have an open roster spot and are willing to accept a new player. Last year, Malik Beasley played with the Sioux Fall Sky Force, so that could be a place where we see Morris play next season.

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The Nuggets roster is finally starting to take shape and it’ll be interesting to see what they do the rest of the summer. Welcome to the squad, Monte Morris!