Spencer Jones had a lot of Denver Nuggets fans fearing that they had lost a key piece of last year's rotation to their rival, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Only in the waning minutes did the Nuggets come out and match the offer for the restricted free agent Jones, retaining the second-year forward on a two-year, $12 million contract. Now, on LinkedIn, of course, Jones has explained his side of the story for why he was going to join the Thunder.
And, honestly, a lot of his points are valid. We all know the NBA is a business first, and Jones made sure to address that.
"I went into free agency with clear priorities: a team that fits my skillset, a championship culture, and an organization I believe in. Both Denver and OKC checked those boxes. Either way, I was landing somewhere that made sense." Jones continued, "The offer sheet was a business decision. It ensured I ended up in the right situation w/ what I felt was the right compensation regardless of what happened next."
That's a very fair assessment and take from Jones, and no fan should hold any ill will against him for trying to make the best for himself. Like Jones further said, "From a two-way with no safety net to this. I don't take that lightly." And he shouldn't. That's a heck of an accomplishment.
The Nuggets retained a key role player who has developed nicely
The Nuggets needed to keep Jones despite their finances moving into the NBA's second apron threshold. They're currently on the hook for approximately an extra $32 million in taxes for Jones's $6 million salary next year, but that's the price to pay for having such a strong core of players and a couple of bad contracts thrown in the mix.
Jones should be an integral part of the Nuggets' rotation again this year, and he should have a chance to continue to develop even further. He started the year, as he said, on a two-way contract. But a myriad of injuries during the season to just about every member of the Nuggets forced him all the way into the starting lineup. 37 times during the regular season, and three in the playoffs.
Jones didn't let the Nuggets down. What he lacked in pure scoring, he made up for with good defense and the ability to knock down an open three-point shot. Jones is the prototypical 3-and-D wing, and he gave the Nuggets that solid role player archetype. He shot 39.6% from beyond the arc and averaged nearly a steal per game (0.8) over 22.1 minutes of court time, while oftentimes playing out of position in head coach David Adelman's small-ball rotation.
That the Thunder wanted Jones should speak volumes
While it stung that the Thunder were the ones to get Jones to sign the offer sheet, it speaks volumes that it was the Thunder that signed Jones to the offer sheet. Thunder GM Sam Presti doesn't miss much, so that he was willing to use the last remaining salary under the second apron for the Thunder to sign Jones is very telling about the quality player they were trying to snag.
Jones isn't the flashiest player, and his jumper looks funky. But he's athletic, he hustles, and he brings the intangible bench-role player qualities that the Nuggets need.
It doesn't matter that he signed the offer sheet with the Thunder. That was good business. But Nuggets fans should be happy they retained Jones. Because losing him to the Thunder would have felt like a double loss.
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