Unrestricted player Tyus Jones has reached an agreement to join the Denver Nuggets, as confirmed by his agent, Kevin Bradbury of LIFT Sports Management, to ESPN on Monday.
The 29-year-old Jones is poised to act as a seasoned point guard, addressing a gap in the Nuggets’ backcourt during the latter part of the season and qualifying for playoff contention. He began his 11th NBA season with the Orlando Magic, having inked a one-year pact the previous summer. Jones’ journey this season included a trade to the Charlotte Hornets, a subsequent transfer to the Dallas Mavericks by the trade deadline, and then his waiver on Saturday, which created the necessary roster vacancy for the team to sign two-way guard Ryan Nembhard.
During his eight appearances with the Mavericks since early February, Jones demonstrated a robust performance, averaging 8.1 assists per 36 minutes. He also maintained an impressive 6.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, a statistic that, according to ESPN Research, positioned him as the third most efficient in the NBA over that period.
Jones’ arrival furnishes the Nuggets with a seasoned ball-handler and strategic manager, serving as a backup to Jamal Murray. This current season, the Nuggets’ bench has recorded an average of just 6.5 assists per game, placing them third-lowest in the NBA, with only the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers having fewer.
Jones experienced the pinnacle of his career during his time with Memphis in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, a period when he garnered votes for Sixth Man of the Year, accumulating averages of 9.5 points and 4.8 assists over 153 matchups.
This season, Jones is currently registering career-worst figures in points per game (3.1), overall field goal percentage (34.9%), and three-point shooting percentage (28.1%).