RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesHoping to add some excitement to their offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder had their attempts at stealing away talent from a divisional rival fall short. The Denver Nuggets matched their two-year, $12 million offer sheet for Spencer Jones.
In a rare attempt at adding a restricted free agent, the Thunder hoped to add Jones to their vacant roster spot. An opening happened on their standard 15-player roster following their trade to send Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal. With $6.9 million to spend below the second apron, they tried to acquire the 25-year-old.
Jones has spent two seasons with the Nuggets. He went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft. He went from a two-way player to getting converted to a standard deal in Feb. 2026. He's one of Denver's best finds in recent memory. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds this past season. He shot 39.6% from 3 on 2.3 attempts.
Starting the weekend on the Thunder, Jones ended it back on the Nuggets. They matched his offer sheet with an hour to spare. Denver had 48 hours to make a decision. Afterward, he took to LinkedIn to express his thoughts on a wild two days.
"It's official. I'm staying a Denver Nugget," Jones wrote. "Plot twist. Yes, I signed an offer sheet with Oklahoma City and yes, Denver matched it. I know some people are confused, and some fans are even upset. How could I sign with a rival? I get it. But I also need people to understand something. This is a business. Front offices treat it that way every day and players have to do the same."
Surely, nobody was too upset at Jones for chasing a bag. As an NBA player, you only get a handful of chances to cash in on your earnings. As a restricted free agent, he had a chance to get the best of both worlds — earn a boatload of guaranteed money and help a title contender.
"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."
Alluded to earlier, Jones is one of Denver's best developmental stories. He played in five collegiate seasons at Stanford from 2019-24. By his second year in the NBA, he was a starter in 37 of the 64 regular-season games he played in. He had a 20-point outing in their Round 1 series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All that was enough to garner serious interest as a restricted free agent. Seldom do you see the Thunder play in that game, but the move made sense from their perspective. Even with the Nuggets matching Jones' offer sheet, they're now the sole team in the NBA to be in the second apron. Which means some difficult roster-cutting decisions will need to be made this summer.
"And along the way, I made a little history. The largest fully guaranteed offer sheet ever signed by an undrafted player converted from a two-way contract," Jones wrote. "From a two-way with no safety net to this. I don't take that lightly. Now I get to keep building with the team that bet on me from the start."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Spencer Jones opens up about Nuggets' decision to match OKC's offer sheet
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