Hard work pays off, especially if you truly want it. For Spencer Jones, that could not have been any truer for the former Stanford star, as he will get the opportunity to live out his NBA dream this season with the Denver Nuggets.

Signing with the Portland Trail Blazers for NBA Summer League after he did not get selected in the Draft, Jones took full advantage of his opportunity and played very well for Portland. After his strong showing in Las Vegas, the Denver Nuggets extended their final two-way contract to him on July 30th, which he signed, meaning that he will now be able to bounce back and forth between the Nuggets’ NBA roster and the G League, where he is expected to get plenty of minutes with the Grand Rapids Gold.

Playing for Stanford for five seasons, from 2019-2024, Jones established himself as the face of the Cardinal, especially after he put together his best season in 2022-23. In that season, which was his junior year, Jones averaged 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, en route to being named Second-team All-Pac-12.

He was also the first player in program history to make the top-10 in both blocks and steals, leaving Stanford 10th in blocks with 112 and 5th in steals with 151. Jones, who was lethal from behind the arc with a 39.7% all-time three-point shooting percentage, also leaves The Farm as the program’s all-time leader in threes, having made 315.

Despite finishing his college career having averaged 11.0 points, 1.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds, Jones went undrafted in this year’s draft, but his competitiveness will give him plenty of motivation to play with a chip on his shoulder and prove everyone wrong whenever Denver does in fact call him up.

Growing up in Roeland Park, Kansas, Jones played high school basketball at Bishop Miege High School where he evolved into the team’s best player, being a crucial piece when they won three state titles in his four years there. In his senior year, he led his team in all major stat categories, averaging 18.8 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Only getting one offer, from Stanford, as a three-star recruit, Jones opted to take his talents to The Farm.

The Nuggets remain winless in preseason play with one game remaining after a 124-94 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at Ball Arena. The last chance to earn a win is Thursday in Minnesota.

Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook were out this time for the Nuggets, leaving them with a cast of role players to fend off Oklahoma City’s full starting lineup — an inverse of Sunday’s game, when Denver ran the starters for three quarters against Phoenix’s bench.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he had planned to rest Murray for this game even before his knee started bothering him Sunday while warming up.

What awaits Strawther after outstanding preseason?

Denver’s clear standout performers this preseason (other than the three-time MVP) have been Michael Porter Jr. and Julian Strawther, both of whom continued to carry the offense during the first-half minutes Tuesday. Strawther made his first five shots, including 3-pointers in rhythm, a driving floater and a couple of buckets in the lane, where he used his footwork or body to go up strong through traffic. He finished with 12 points.

Most importantly in these four games, he is 8 for 18 from distance, where his teammates have struggled. Christian Braun, who’s expected to start at shooting guard over Strawther, is 1 for 13. That probably won’t change how the rotation will shake out, though.

“Obviously it’s never going to be just about who’s playing better in a vacuum,” Malone said when asked about the position battle. “It’s always going to be about, yes, who’s playing well, but also who complements that unit. And right now to be honest, I think C.B. and Jamal and Michael and Aaron (Gordon) and Nikola, that’s a group that really complements each other well. I think (Russell Westbrook), when we get Peyton Watson back — and that’s been really hard for us, not to have Peyton — but I think Russ, Julian, Peyton, Dario (Saric) and whoever else, I think that’s a really good complementary group as well. But I will give Julian some more chances to get out there and start and play with that (starting) group.”

Watson (hamstring) still hasn’t played this preseason, but Malone says the plan is to have him ready for the season opener next Thursday at Ball Arena.

Nnaji puts together consecutive good games

As frustrated as Malone was with his team’s collective performance against the Suns on Sunday, he pointed to Zeke Nnaji’s fourth-quarter minutes as one of the few positives.

Nnaji earned a starting nod Tuesday and built on his productive outing with 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and three blocks, including one against Jalen Williams in space. There were occasional lapses, too — a ball-screen miscommunication leading to an easy dunk in the first half, a ball fake getting him to leave his feet for a blow-by in the second half — but the highlights should be a welcomed confidence boost. Nnaji’s form has looked smoother, too. He buried a couple of 3s Tuesday.

Before opening tip, Malone gave a candid answer when asked if he believes Nnaji is better at the four or the five, speaking to the general skill set the coach wants to see from Nnaji.

“I don’t get into all that. I think that’s a bunch of malarkey,” Malone said. “‘Are you a four or are you a five?’ In today’s NBA, you’re a big, you’re a small. … This is not 1980s where it’s three-out, two-in. Zeke’s a big. So go out there and play your game. I mean, is Dario Saric a center in anybody’s eyes? Well, he is for us. So yeah, the whole four (or) five thing, I just don’t really understand.”

Two-way guard sneaks up depth chart

Without Murray and Westbrook, this exhibition offered a glimpse of other ways the Nuggets can initiate offense. They used a variety of players to bring the ball up, from Aaron Gordon to Strawther to Braun. And notably, in Malone’s nine-man rotation during the early stages of the game, two-way player Trey Alexander made an appearance over Jalen Pickett, who checked in during the third quarter and played most of the second half.

If there’s anything definitive from Denver’s 0-4 preseason start, it’s that the end of the bench just doesn’t have much to work with. Malone has turned red in the face during the second halves of every game so far. The Nuggets held up pretty well against a mismatch in the first half without Jokic — it was after halftime that they fell apart again.

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Originally Published: October 15, 2024 at 9:44 p.m.