It appears Sam Presti was reading yesterday’s Mile High Sports article.
According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones signed a two-year, $12 million offer sheet with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
JUST IN: Restricted free agent forward Spencer Jones has agreed to a two-year, $12 million offer sheet with the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources told @hoopshype. The Denver Nuggets will have an opportunity to match the offer sheet. pic.twitter.com/5ORNQ4JGQg
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 25, 2026
The Nuggets will have two days to match the contract, which is fully guaranteed and pays the 25-year-old forward $6 million per season.
It’s a market value contract and one that I projected yesterday when discussing Denver’s financial situation.
Jones, based on these numbers, is worth about $6 million per year to me. Double what a minimum salary would be, but not quite to the level of stable veterans who have started consistently for a long time. The Nuggets should be able to find a way to make this work, because Zeke Nnaji makes $7.46 million in each of the next two seasons.
The Nuggets, heading into free agency in their discussions with other teams, projected to the masses that they were willing to pay the second apron and a high luxury tax bill in order to remain as competitive as possible. Perhaps they were telling the truth. Perhaps they were merely attempting to regain some negotiating leverage they had lost due to every singel team expecting them to shed salary this offseason.
Now, Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder are asking Denver to put their money where their mouth is. Jones, in a vacuum, would be very reasonably priced at $6 million per year. Other players to earn that much in 2026-27 are Jaden Hardy, Josh Okogie, Anfernee Simons, Jake LaRavia, and Jaxson Hayes among others. Jones is just as impactful as those players, not decidedly more, but close enough to justify Denver matching the contract.
For Denver though, the financial pressures of the luxury tax and the second are a real thing, and if they feel they have to make a choice on which players to give up, losing Jones may be an easier pill to swallow than having to lose Peyton Watson, or having to trade Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, or Aaron Gordon for cheap.
With the Nuggets starting lineup as expensive as it is and Denver trying to hold onto their best talent, the role players have fallen through the cracks this offseason. Tim Hardaway Jr. signed a contract with the Miami Heat for $6.06 million. Jonas Valanciunas was waived to avoid having a $10 million guaranteed contract. Bruce Brown remains unsigned. Jalen Pickett’s team option was declined.
The Nuggets have lost a lot of the players off their bench, and if they lose Spencer Jones in a situation when they have all of the control to keep him, that will be another significant blow to Denver’s second unit. To this point, the Nuggets have replaced their bench with Tyus Jones (a buyout holdover), Marvin Bagley III, international rookie Alpha Diallo, and 2026 second round picks Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins.
Unless the Nuggets plan on retaining Peyton Watson and using him (or one of the other wings) as a sixth starter off the bench, there’s almost no justifiable competitive reason to NOT match Jones’ $6 million per year offer. It would be incredibly disappointing for the Nuggets to watch all of their bench talent disappear during the offseason, only to also trade away one of their starters in an attempt to reduce their luxury tax bill.
And yet, it’s a strong possibility that Denver lets Jones go to a rival that proactively worked within their own financial limitations, traded away some vets, but still found a way to add short and long term talent to their roster.
We will see what the Nuggets decide to do. They have every ability to match. Although, the more money they place on their books for next season offers additional pressure for a trade meant to cut salary.
Jones may or may not be retained, but the Nuggets are officially on the clock to make a choice they can live with that balances staying competitive and alleviating personal financial pressure.
Spencer Jones signs two-year, $12 million offer sheet with Thunder, will Nuggets match? Mile High Sports.
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