The Nuggets are planning to sign former CU Buffs star KJ Simpson to a two-way contract, filling the spot they opened up by converting Spencer Jones to a standard NBA deal Wednesday, league sources told The Denver Post.
Simpson, 23, was waived by Charlotte after the trade deadline this month. Drafted 42nd overall by the Hornets in 2024, he played in 50 games over the last two seasons and started 17 of them, averaging 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
The 6-foot-2 guard represents additional ball-handling depth for the Nuggets as they prepare for the last third of the regular season. He won’t be eligible to play in the NBA playoffs on a two-way contract. Denver now has three guards occupying its two-way spots, with Simpson joining rookies Curtis Jones and Tamar Bates.
Simpson played 98 games during a three-year college career at Colorado. He earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior and stamped his place in program history during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when he buried a game-winning shot against Florida to send CU to the second round.
Players on two-way contracts split their time between the NBA and G League depending on where they’re needed. Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, has been without key players such as Jones, Bates and big man DaRon Holmes II for most of the last two months, with Jones and Holmes assigned to Denver and Bates injured.
The Nuggets have used Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther as complementary guards in the starting lineup over the last month while navigating injuries. They prefer to use Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench to generate an extra scoring jolt when they make substitutions, though Hardaway has also closed a number of games this season.
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