Spencer Jones says he understands why some Nuggets fans might be bothered by the path he took, but he’s not apologizing for it.
In a LinkedIn post, Jones addressed Denver’s decision to match the Thunder’s two-year, $11.75MM offer sheet and explained why he was comfortable signing with a division rival. He said he entered free agency with a few clear priorities and believed both teams fit what he wanted.
“I know some people are confused, and some fans are even upset. How could I sign with a rival?
I get it. But I also need people to understand something,” Jones wrote.
“ This is a business. Front offices treat it that way every day and players have to do the same.
I went into free agency with clear priorities: a team that fits my skill set, a championship culture, and an organization I believe in. Both Denver and OKC checked those boxes.
Either way, I was landing somewhere that made sense.”
Jones also said the deal carried a bit of history with it after a breakout season.
“The offer sheet was a business decision. It ensured I ended up in the right situation w/ what I felt was the right compensation regardless of what happened next.
And along the way, I made a little history. The largest fully guaranteed offer sheet ever signed by an undrafted player converted from a two-way contract,” he wrote.
“From a two-way with no safety net to this. I don’t take that lightly.
Now I get to keep building with the team that bet on me from the start.”
Elsewhere in the West, Mark Cuban said his role around the Mavericks has been sharply reduced. Cuban, now part of a private equity firm that has bought a minority stake in MLB’s Athletics, told The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend that he would have preferred more influence over Dallas’ basketball operations, but that hasn’t been the reality.
“The pivot away from the Mavs was not my choice,” he said. “I have spoken on the phone once with (new top executive) Masai (Ujiri) for about 120 seconds.
Same with (majority owner) Patrick (Dumont); day of (Ujiri’s) hiring. I’ve had two texts with Masai, both I think maybe two- or three-word responses, a couple with no response.
Which is fine. His choice.
I absolutely expected it when they hired Masai. That’s why they hired him.
To run basketball.”
Rockets center Alperen Sengun also pushed back on the idea that he and Kevin Durant have had any friction. Speaking in a “Socrates Dergi” interview, Sengun said the narrative around their relationship came out of nowhere and that the two have never had a real issue.
“A perception suddenly formed out of nowhere. I’ve never had an argument with KD, not even once.
We’ve never raised our voices at each other,” Sengun said. “ We always talk, and we always talk after games, too.
We especially talked after games we lost. Like, “What are we doing wrong?”
I specifically would ask him, “What do we need to do? Where do you think we made mistakes today?
Why didn’t it work out?” I ask him, and he answers.
These things always happen, but like I said, because we’re people who hate losing… you can see that on our faces during games. You can read it on KD’s face.
You can read it on my face.”
Sengun added that he has a close relationship with coach Ime Udoka and said he deleted his Twitter account because of negative comments.
The Suns, meanwhile, are still dealing with a draft-pick imbalance that leans heavily toward outgoing assets. Gerald Bourguet of Sports360AZ.com examined the front office’s approach and wrote that the team believes it is building toward a point where the picks it has already moved won’t matter much anymore. That plan, Bourguet noted, depends in part on the Suns continuing to find useful players late in the first round, in the second round, and among undrafted free agents.
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