Nuggets re-sign important backup guard

Tyus Jones is coming back.

The veteran point guard has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Nuggets, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday. It’s a sensible, low-risk bet on a guy who showed Denver exactly what he could do when it mattered most.

Jones joined the Nuggets on the buyout market last March after the Dallas Mavericks cut him loose, and for most of the regular season he was an afterthought. He played just 92 minutes of mostly garbage time but flashed some of the steady hand that he’s known for.

But in a combined 26 minutes across Games 5 and 6 of Denver’s first-round loss to Minnesota, Jones was arguably the Nuggets’ best bench player. He took care of the ball. He ran the offense. He didn’t panic against the Wolves’ pressure. For a team that has been absolutely torched by full-court traps and aggressive ball denial for three straight postseasons, that stuff matters.

It wasn’t enough to save Denver’s season. But it was enough to earn another crack at it.

Jones, 30, enters his 12th NBA season as a well-traveled floor general with stops in Minnesota, Memphis, Phoenix, Washington, Charlotte, Orlando and Dallas before landing in Denver. His calling card remains one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in leaguef history, and while the scoring has dried up in recent years, the Nuggets will look at him to both take pressure off Jamal Murray and set up others.

They’re bringing him back because Murray needs a real backup, and Jones is the best option they’ve got. Especially now that Denver declined Jalen Pickett’s team option earlier this offseason, leaving a clear runway for Jones to slide into the primary backup point guard role. Former Buffs star K.J. Simpson is still in the mix as a two-way guy after spending last season on a two-way deal, but Jones has the experience edge — and the playoff resume to match.

The signing is part of a quiet but purposeful early free agency for the Nuggets, who also added center Marvin Bagley III on a one-year deal. Denver lost Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Miami Heat and has holes to fill on a roster that finished as a top-three seed in the Western Conference despite a brutal stretch of injuries.

Jones’ size at six-foot and defense remain concerns. So does his inability to score consistently — he averaged just 3.9 points and 3.8 assists in limited action with Dallas before the buyout. But his ability to run an offense, make the right pass and handle ball pressure is exactly the type of depth the Nuggets have lacked behind Murray since Monte Morris was traded ahead of the 2022-23 championship season.

The Nuggets’ front office said this offseason they’d prioritize adding ball-handling. Jones is the first tangible step toward fixing a problem that’s haunted this team since the title winner.

It’s a one-year flier. It’s not flashy. But if Jones can give Denver 15 quality minutes a night in the regular season and be ready when the postseason pressure ramps up, it’s a roster spot well-used.

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