The Nuggets will match the two-year offer sheet Spencer Jones signed with the Thunder, keeping the restricted free agent forward in Denver, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Charania tweets, Denver’s projected luxury tax bill will rise from $36MM to $68MM by matching Jones’ offer sheet. Charania suggests the team make choose to make in-season trades, rather than offseason deals, to reduce its tax bill.

The Nuggets, who are now operating over the second tax apron, now turn their attention to figuring out Peyton Watson’s free agency amid external interest from the Hawks, Bucks and Clippers, Charania adds.

Jones became a RFA at the end of June when the Nuggets formally tendered him a $2.65MM qualifying offer. That gave Denver the right of first refusal, and the team exercised that right by matching the deal Jones signed with Oklahoma City.

Jones’ new contract is technically worth $11.75MM over two years, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He’ll make $6MM in 2026/27 and $5.75MM in ’27/28 and will have the right to veto trades for the current league year.

According to Marks (Twitter link), if Watson ends up accepting his $6.5MM qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next year, Denver’s projected tax bill would rise to $112MM.

Jones, 25, went undrafted in 2024 after five college seasons at Stanford. He signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets that summer and didn’t see much NBA action as a rookie, playing 125 total minutes across 20 appearances (6.3 minutes per game).

Jones returned to the Nuggets on another two-way deal last offseason and carved out a significant role in year two amid a wave of injuries, most notably to Aaron Gordon. Jones, who was converted to a standard contract in February, averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals on .504/.394/.608 shooting splits in 64 games in 2025/26, including 37 starts (22.1 MPG).

More to come…