Sam Amico, who is a TV Insider for Fox Sports Ohio and also the proprietor of amicohoops.com tweeted out today that the Denver Nuggets have shown interest in former Baylor standout Perry Jones III.
Now I’m not going to say Sam is wrong, he’s a far more legitimate source than some of the other purveyors of Nuggets related rumors but it seems very odd that he would have this info. Sam primarily works with the Cleveland Cavaliers so one has to question where he might have picked up this tidbit. The more common outlets such as Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania, Chris Dempsey with the Denver Post, our own Jeff Morton etc have not reported this. Again, not saying I don’t believe Sam, I in fact fully believe Jones’ agent has mentioned to him there is some interest coming from the Nuggets and I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true but I do want to emphasize no one else is reporting this.
The reason I wouldn’t be surprised is Jones could potentially fill a hole on the Nuggets roster, though it would not necessarily be a great fit. He’s primarily a wing, his skill set, which features elite level athleticism and a developing outside shot, naturally lends itself to that position. The small forward position of course is fairly well stocked in Denver. However, Jones is 6’11” which means he could potentially serve as an emergency center for the Nuggets. He doesn’t really have the bulk or low post ability on either end of the court to play center, but his height alone qualifies him for the just-in-case spot. Yet, for Jones, it’s not simply a matter of performing well before the season starts and catching on to the roster should the Nuggets bring him in.
He was actually on the Boston Celtics roster for training camp last year but was waived prior to the season starting. It appears that two major reasons hampered his ability to make the squad. First, Jones has dealt with a myriad of injuries to his knees that have hampered his development and left teams with concerns about his long term viability in the NBA. The second was the death of his cousin and best friend. This occurred right when Jones was attempting to make the Celtics’ squad and Jones told Vice Sports the passing of his cousin had a major affect on him mentally during that time period leaving him unprepared. He was waived shortly thereafter.
Jones was supposed to play this year with Khimki Moscow but appeared in just one game and the mutually parted ways today. There could be a couple of reasons for this, perhaps Khimki decided he wasn’t healthy enough, perhaps Jones wants to spend time closer to his family after suffering a tragedy last season, or maybe, just maybe, an NBA team has told him they think he has a good chance of making their roster. All of this is speculation of course but the Nuggets have never shied away from the low risk high reward type of move in the past, this could just be another one of them.
