Trail Blazers News: Portland Standout Signs with West Contender

Alex Kirschenbaum | Jul 24, 2024

Mar 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones (14) shoots against Washington State Cougars guard Kymany Houinsou (31) during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Former 2024 Las Vegas Summer League Portland Trail Blazers forward Spencer Jones, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Stanford, has latched on with a Western Conference playoff contender in the Denver Nuggets. According to The Denver Post's Bennett Durando, the 6-foot-7 former All-Pac-12 forward is inking a two-way deal with the 2023 champs.

Jones barely played for Portland in Summer League, per RealGM. He suited up for a scant 7.5 minutes, scoring no points on a single 3-point field goal attempt, blocking one shot, and pulling down one rebound.

Across a five-season run with the Cardinal from 2019-24, Jones posted career averages of 11.0 points on .439/.397/.705 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks a night. He started 139 of his 146 career games with the program. During his most prolific season, 2022-23, Jones avewraged 14.1 points while slashing .474/.389/.746, along with 4.7 boards, 1.2 dimes, 1.2 swipes and 0.9 rejections.

Denver general manager Calvin Booth is no doubt intrigued by Jones' 3-point floor spacing acumen, which he more than proved in college. Jones' 39.7 percent long range shooting rate in college arrived on 5.4 triple tries. His 315 treys recorded at Stanford represented a new school record.

Jones will join a pair of other undrafted rookie free agents, Trey Alexander and PJ Hall, in filling out the Nuggets' three two-way player contract slots. The 6-foot-4 Alexander is a former Creighton guard, while the 6-foot-8 Hall starred at forward for Clemson. Should Jones remain rostered with the Nuggets for the entirety of the 2024-25 season on this current deal (i.e. without getting cut or promoted), he'll be in line to notch a $578,577 salary, and can appear in as many as 50 regular season games (but no playoff games, unless he's promoted into a standard roster spot).

Did Portland miss out on adding Jones to a two-way deal here? We'll have to find out.

More Trail Blazers: Rookie Donovan Clingan Named To An All-Summer League Team