Two-way player no more. Go update your LinkdIn, Spencer, you're officially on a standard contract! In a move that seemingly everyone expected, the Nuggets and Spencer Jones have finally made it official. Jones will take the team's 14th roster spot.
Jones has started 34 games for the Nuggets this season, all of them on his two-way contract. Jones will be paid the league minimum for the rest of the season, leaving Denver with space to fill the 15th and final roster spot, which they wasted no time in doing.
The minimum contract allowed the Nuggets to plan for an additional move, reports Shams Charania. The Nuggets are making plans to sign former Hornets guard KJ Simpson to a two-way deal. Simpson will take Jones' two-way roster spot.
Jones will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He will join fellow Nuggets wing Peyton Watson, who is constantly getting linked to a pursuit by the Lakers, on the restricted free agent market.
However, it remains to be seen if the Nuggets will be able to match any offers the pair may receive. The Nuggets will once again be deep into the luxury tax next year. The front office will have to use careful planning to bring them both back.
How will Coach Adelman use Jones?
Only head coach David Adelman and the Nuggets coaching staff know how they will use Jones. He's another piece of the puzzle that is surprisingly filling in more now than it has been since Thanksgiving.
It's a crowded bunch. Jones had been starting in place of the injured Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, and Aaron Gordon. Then Peyton Watson went to the next level. Cam and Braun have since returned, and Julian Strawther's played well, filling in for Jones in the starting lineup.
Every time someone went down, the next guy up filled in. And they did it well. Denver found more depth than they knew it had when the season started. It's a blessing in disguise, but also a headache for the coaching staff.
Fitting everyone together is a conundrum that only the coaching staff is fit to solve. But rest assured, they're all feeling good after the week-long break that the All-Star game provided. Coach Adelman sounded upbeat about the time off in his first meeting with the media before the season's final two months kick off. Which is a great signal. A healthy Nuggets team could make a deep run this Spring.