Spencer Jones has a contract, KJ Simpson is a Nugget, and what to do with the last roster spot
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What is the significance of Spencer Jones converting his contract?
My eyes are also on Spencer Jones, who is officially a Denver Nugget this year. The news came in yesterday that the Nuggets, this was not, I told people on the show over and over again, people were concerned that we're going to lose him this year. I don't think that was ever in risk. The only question was, could you get him on a multi-year deal? That would be great for Denver. You lock up a minimum contract for years to come, who's a playable player. And they weren't able to get that done. You know, Spencer Jones, I think, is eager to test his own free agency. It's going to be restricted free agency, but test his own free agency and just see maybe there is a little bit more money. Can you drive that price up a little bit?
I think Denver obviously wanted to get something done, but Denver didn't have, at this stage, they didn't have any maneuverability other than going into the tax. And I don't think the Cronkies looked at this as a scenario that was we're going to go into the tax and maybe put ourselves behind the eight ball in future years just to give them an extra million dollars a year. I believe the team is looking at this and saying, Let's see what happens. We value him a lot. We look at the market, and we'll see. And they still have matching rights into the summer. So if he ends up getting an extra million, two, three million, Denver might have to bite the bullet and pay at that point. But I think Denver's approach to this is, why prepay where you're guaranteed to pay yourself?
Why would we ever do that?
Well, because I think Denver still controls his rights is my point.
I was kind of being a little...
If they're looking at this and saying going over the tax is going to hurt us, at least how they view it, it's going to hurt us and limit us in the future, then why don't we not flinch? Let's go to the summer and let's see if he can actually get more money in free agency. And I actually think it's a decent gamble in terms of I'm not so sure that he is going to get meaningfully more elsewhere. And I think Denver will be able to match him in the offseason.
Yes, and he will be restricted free agent, most likely, presumably. Of course, the Nuggets would have to offer a qualifying offer. There is one small catch here. It will probably work out in Denver's favor, but worth going over.
How does Spencer Jones's restricted free agency impact the Nuggets?
There is a starters criteria qualifying offer. I believe it's 41 games started on the season. means that your qualifying offer bumps all the way up to 5.9 million, which is probably more than Denver would like to offer Spencer Jones, just as far as the QO goes. So what does that really mean? Well, you'll notice that Spencer Jones is not in the starting lineup tonight. I wouldn't expect to see him in a ton of starting lineups. In fact, I would say no more than six from here until the end of the season. That's probably the number. So that the Nuggets can tender that cheaper qualifying offer.
What's interesting about this one to me is – so a couple things. First of all, I know everybody's – it's fair if you want to freak out and, oh, did they drop the ball because now they didn't lock him up for multi-years. Let's just see how it plays out. It's entirely possible that this is not an issue, a non-story at all, and Denver just gets him back and they have him for this year. He's now good to go, and he'll play for the Nuggets for the rest of the season, end of the playoffs, everything else. But that part of it is what's interesting to me.
What role will KJ Simpson play for the Denver Nuggets?
Because I think Denver has been very earnest with him. He's started. He's played a lot of minutes. It's like he's been given any opportunity a two-way player could possibly ask for. But... The Nuggets in doing so, like, I don't even know if this was on their radar 20 games ago about like, oh my God, are we ever going to get close to this 41 game limit? But now you're at a point where you could totally foresee a scenario where, well, should we start Spencer or should we start Zeke? And does it make that much of a difference? Probably not. We're going to start Zeke.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the significance of Spencer Jones converting his contract?
0:00–1:59
2
How does Spencer Jones's restricted free agency impact the Nuggets?
1:59–2:53
3
What role will KJ Simpson play for the Denver Nuggets?
2:53–5:14
4
Why is the Nuggets' remaining roster spot important?
5:14–7:00
5
What strategies do the Nuggets have for filling their last roster spot?
7:00–9:18
6
How can the Nuggets benefit from signing a veteran player?
9:18–12:17
7
What challenges do the Nuggets face in the upcoming games?
12:17–13:48
8
What are the expectations for the Nuggets this season?
13:48–14:15
Speakers
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