Welcome to the Mile High City, Kessler Edwards.
The 6-foot-8, 25-year-old forward signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Denver Nuggets earlier this week, per Mike Scotto, but can he claim the team’s final roster spot? Or does the franchise view the four-year pro as more of a training camp body and G League player?
This year’s training camp presents a stellar opportunity for Edwards to prove his worth and snag an NBA contract. The 44th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Pepperdine, Edwards began his career in Brooklyn before moving on to Sacramento and then Dallas last season.
Across 178 NBA games, Edwards has shot 36% from three, averaging 3.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 12.7 minutes per game. A versatile defender, Edwards flashed during increased playing time with the depleted Mavs down the stretch last season, exhibiting potential value as an end-of-roster flyer.
I can confirm the Nuggets have signed Kessler Edwards to an Exhibit 10 contract. Denver still has one standard roster spot available.@MikeAScotto had it first.
— Vinny Benedetto (@VBenedetto) August 12, 2025
Solid Minutes for Last Season’s Mavericks
Edwards really came on in extended minutes with the injury-riddled Mavericks during the 2024-25 season’s homestretch. He started 18 games, shooting 40.7% from distance, and averaged 7.1 points and 4.2 boards in 22.6 minutes per game, shooting 53/46/90 with 1.5 stocks across his last 20 appearances.
A standout performance came on March 10, when Edwards scored a career-high 22 points, snagged 11 rebounds — four offensive — and dished three assists in a win against the San Antonio Spurs. Almost all of his scoring that evening came from drop-offs and easy putbacks inside, but he also showed some adept decision-making on the short roll, heads-up attacking against overaggressive closeouts, and great awareness of positioning to collect o-boards.
Edwards also brings good rim protection stats for a wing and appears as a versatile defender across multiple positions. In Sacramento, he often defended the opponent’s best scorer, successfully guarding everyone from Devin Booker to Jayson Tatum to Giannis Antetokounmpo on individual possessions. He can defend on ball and rotates well when helping as a team defender.
Can the defensive dynamism and improved shooting from the forward position entice the new-look Nuggets front office to finalize the roster with Edwards in the 15th and final full-time spot?
A Look at the Nuggets’ Needs
A quick glance at the Nuggets roster ahead of next season shows a few holes:
- Backup point guard/ballhandler
- Third center
- Depth forward
With the offseason addition of Bruce Brown, coupled with Jalen Pickett’s return, the Nuggets seem to be fairly set behind Murray at point guard. However, having more players capable of handling the ball and putting teammates in positions to succeed on a nightly basis is never a bad thing.
Jonas Valanciunas provides the kind of quality at backup center that the Nuggets have rarely enjoyed during the Nikola Jokic era. Big Val should easily be the best in that role since DeMarcus Cousins or even Mason Plumlee. But behind the two European bigs, the Nuggets would have to turn to the undersized (and inexperienced) DaRon Holmes II or someone better suited to play power forward in Zeke Nnaji.
At forward, though, the Nuggets roster features a sneaky depth issue. Given the injury risks surrounding the soon-to-be 30-year-old Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson, who missed 23 games to injuries last year, having solid players behind those two forwards is vital.
Peyton Watson will undoubtedly spell Johnson or Gordon as the first forward off the bench, but the picture becomes a lot murkier after that. Hunter Tyson’s unimpressive Summer League performance left some wondering if his days in Denver are numbered. Nnaji has been thoroughly inconsistent across his 251 career games played. Spencer Jones is on a two-way deal, and Holmes is essentially a rookie working his way back from a devastating Achilles injury.
Is Kessler Edwards the exact player type who can fill that depth forward hole for Denver?
How Edwards Can Win the Last Roster Spot
Given the mechanics of his contract, status as a fifth-year NBA player, and the Nuggets’ already full two-way corps, Edwards is in a kind of “all or nothing” position with Denver and can either seize the full-time role or will likely walk away with nothing.
But on the bright side, Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace have certainly prioritized versatility and shooting thus far this offseason. And Edwards theoretically provides both.
A proven NBA-level shooter, Edwards will need to maintain his excellent three-point shooting from down last season’s stretch in training camp practices and preseason games. He will also need to show positional flexibility and that he can contribute in Denver’s defensive schemes as someone who can defend several positions.
Edwards is certainly someone who can play his role without the ball in his hands and defend well across positions for several-minute stretches. I believe he has the potential to be a great long-shot candidate for the Nuggets. The kind of low-risk, high-reward player who can make a front office look genius if he hits.
Training camp will tell us a lot, but at this point, I like Kessler Edwards’ chances to secure the 15th and final roster spot for our Denver Nuggets.