In a season full of great stories for the Nuggets, the emergence of Spencer Jones has arguably been the greatest. The only downside to his great play is that he’s running out of eligibility on his two-way contract, and as of now, he can only be active for five more games before hitting the cap of 50 games for two-way players.
Two-way players rarely burst onto the season this quickly at the start of a season that it becomes an issue, but that’s where we are with Jones, who worked his way into the Denver rotation right from the jump.
All the reporting has suggested that the team intends to convert Jones’ contract to a full-time deal and add him to the active roster as the 15th man. They’ve kept that final spot on the roster open, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.
But again, there is a bit of a hitch in the plan. The Nuggets would also like to shed just over $400k in salary before the NBA trade deadline, which would allow them to dip under the luxury tax, saving some money, creating some wiggle room, and potentially setting up to avoid the repeater tax in the future.
Nuggets will likely wait until after trade deadline to convert Jones’ contract
Why this matters in relation to Jones is that the team would like to wait until after the deadline to start dealing with additional roster moves. With Jones having five games left to play, that leaves him just short of the deadline, which is on February 5th this year. Marc Stein reported Sunday on his Substack that the Nuggets have already been bracing to be without Jones for the final few games before the deadline.
But the postponement of Sunday’s game in Memphis actually helps here, because it adds one more game that Jones should be active for. Now, his 50th game will be February 3rd at Detroit, which would mean he’d only miss one game, the next night, February 4th in New York.
The deadline is the next day, so hopefully, the Nuggets will have taken care of whatever business is necessary, and they can get Jones onto the roster and ready to join the team for their next game on February 7th in Chicago.
It’s obnoxious and archaic, but frankly, it’s a great problem to have. The Nuggets couldn’t be luckier to have found Jones and struck gold on a big wing who gives them a boost on both ends. His defense and rebounding have been solid, but he’s taken a leap on offense and has become a reliable three-point shooter.
At this point, it would be more surprising than not if Jones doesn’t end up in the playoff rotation. He’s been extremely durable, reliable, and consistent, and while they’ve needed him much more than expected thanks to injuries, he has absolutely earned his minutes and should be a big part of this team for years to come.