Nuggets add one of the Big 12’s top scorers to roster

The two nights of the NBA Draft featured a lot of chaos and moves around the NBA, none of which involved the Denver Nuggets, who stayed pat without a pick in either round. Once the dust settled after NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum the 59th and final pick of the draft, Ben Tenzer, Jon Wallace and the rest of the front office started making moves on the undrafted free agent front.

The Nuggets new tandem’s first move was to sign Missouri guard Tamar Bates to a two-way deal, a prolific scorer in college who easily has a chance rise up Denver’s depth chart if he’s able to translate his game from college to the NBA.

Shortly after the Bates signing, Tenzer and Wallace added another offensive threat in Curtis Jones, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Iowa State.

NEWS Iowa State's Curtis Jones has agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets, a source told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/FvvjlDILyt

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 27, 2025

Jones, 23, was the fifth-best scorer in the entire Big 12 last year (17.4 PPG), one of the best basketball conferences in the country. He shot 43% from the field (ninth Big 12) and 37.4% from 3-point range (fifth Big 12). He was the top dog on an Iowa State team that wound up as a No. 3 seed in March Madness and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP Poll in the middle of the season.

Woke up still thinking about Curtis Jones' electrifying Quarterfinal performance against BYU

31 Points
7/15 from 3 PT Range
3 Rebounds
3 Assists
2 Steals#Big12MBB | @CycloneMBB pic.twitter.com/E2q8ZizthY

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) March 14, 2025

Jones also was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and was received the conference’s Sixth Man Award, an honor that should instantly catch the eye of Nuggets fans after being without a reliable bench for the majority of the Nikola Jokic era. He came off the bench in three of his four years of college (two at Buffalo, two at Iowa State), and found a role he could shine in giving relief to the starters.

The fine print of the contract has not been announced as of Friday morning, but the two likely options are either a two-way, similar to Bates, or an Exhibit 10 contract. An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, minimum salary contract that brings the player on for training camp and summer league action that allows the franchise to possibly convert the deal to a two-way or a G League contract when the season kicks off.

This signing — albeit a small one — has very high upside for a team that is looking anywhere it can to find more depth. Shooting has also been an issue for the Nuggets, and is one of the causes for their second round exit in the playoffs this year, an element that Jones brings to the table if he gets the right opportunity.

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