This year’s Denver Nuggets summer league experience felt very similar to years past in that the team was interesting, but slightly underwhelming, as they finished with a 2-3 record. With that being said, Curtis Jones, a 6’6” SG from Iowa State, was one of the bright spots for Denver through those five games. His great play resulted in the Nuggets offering him their final two-way contract:
The Denver Nuggets are signing guard Curtis Jones to a two-way NBA contract, agent Austin Walton of NEXT Sports tells ESPN. After going undrafted out of Iowa State, Jones had a stellar summer league for the Nuggets, averaging 15 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 47% from 3.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2025
Jones’ per-game averages were very impressive, considering he was coming off the bench for Denver in all but one of the games. His 15 PPG, 4 RPG, and 4 APG were impressive enough, but it was the 47% shooting from beyond the arc that really sealed the deal and solidified the decision to offer him the last two-way spot.
Coming off the bench was nothing new for Jones either, and clearly not a barrier to his being successful. At Iowa State, the young guard started just 10 of 71 games, and still proved to be an electric and fearless scorer. Prior to that, he did have one full season of starting at Buffalo, but came off the bench a whopping 89 times in his collegiate career.
This two-way signing from the Nuggets was not unexpected after how well he played, although it does lead to some depth questions elsewhere on the roster now. Ultimately, it appears that Denver just thought that Jones was too good a scorer to let get away, and they will work with what they’ve got elsewhere on the roster.
The C depth is okay, but the Nuggets must address their PG depth…
Many thought Denver might opt to give their final two-way contract out to another true center to be the 3rd string big man behind Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas. Others thought it may go to more of a true PG, considering there’s no real PGs on the roster outside of Jamal Murray and Jalen Pickett, who showed flashes last year but is still unproven.
While the lack of a 3rd true center is mildly concerning, that situation is in a far better spot than the PG spot. Jokic is a machine who will play 70+ games barring something traumatic. Valanciunas is more than capable of spot-starting and playing significant minutes still at age 33. In fact he has started 90.5% of his career NBA games thus far in his career.
Luckily, DaRon Holmes II looks capable of playing some backup C, even if just in an emergency situation or in specific matchups. Zeke Nnaji has been a below-average C in his career, but could also soak up some minutes if absolutely needed. The PG spot, on the other hand, is truly thin… and that is where the Nuggets should look at making use of their final roster spot.
Denver seems to be intentionally keeping their options open by leaving one roster spot free, which makes sense. There’s a chance Bruce Brown and Jalen Pickett might be able to get the job done, but with players like Malcolm Brogdon, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Delon Wright, and Monte Morris all still available, it may be wise to fill that spot sooner rather than later.
Morris would be a fun signing, especially as he would be okay not playing significant minutes and has the Nuggets connection with Jokic already. Additionally, he could mentor Jones since they are both former Iowa State Cyclones, and Morris also started out on a two-way contract. Time will tell if Denver opts to make use of their final roster spot before the season begins.