Nuggets Reportedly Sign Former Hornets Guard

The Denver Nuggets have added a new guard to their roster coming out of the All-Star break.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Nuggets are signing former Charlotte Hornets guard K.J. Simpson to a two-way contract.

"The Nuggets are planning to sign former Charlotte Hornets guard KJ Simpson to a two-way NBA deal, sources tell ESPN. Simpson averaged 7.3 points and 21.3 minutes over 50 games in 1 ½ seasons in Charlotte. He takes Spencer Jones' slot after Jones is converted to a standard deal."

The Nuggets are planning to sign former Charlotte Hornets guard KJ Simpson to a two-way NBA deal, sources tell ESPN. Simpson averaged 7.3 points and 21.3 minutes over 50 games in 1 ½ seasons in Charlotte. He takes Spencer Jones' slot after Jones is converted to a standard deal. https://t.co/X4ZUkcGzzA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2026

The decision to sign Simpson follows the Nuggets' roster move earlier in the day to bring Spencer Jones onto the main roster with a traditional NBA contract from his previous two-way deal, which immediately opened a two-way spot for Denver to utilize and add another cheap, part-time player onto their roster for the remaining weeks of the regular season.

Simpson––a former three-year player for the University of Colorado––now fills that two-way spot that Jones had left open for the Nuggets, and gives Denver one more contributor to their roster moving forward for the next few weeks, giving the 23-year-old guard a home less than a month from getting cut from his previous squad.

What Are the Nuggets Getting in K.J. Simpson?

Simpson had been with the Hornets for the past two seasons leading up to his newly signed deal with the Nuggets.

Simpson had initially started his career with the Hornets, as he came into the league as the 42nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He had previously been on a two-way deal with Charlotte for the two years he was in the building, but he saw his time end right before All-Star Weekend to go out and search for a new opportunity.

That opportunity would just so happen to be with the Nuggets, as he now joins Curtis Jones and Tamar Bates as their two-way signees and Spencer Jones' replacement heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

During Simpson's 50 games appearing with the Hornets through the past two seasons, he's averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 34.6% from the field and 26.6% from three. Not quite the highest efficiency marks offensively, but his raw scoring stats are at least somewhat appealing.

Dec 12, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kj Simpson (25) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

In reality, Simpson might not be getting a ton of minutes within the Nuggets' NBA rotation in the last few weeks of the regular season. Denver is currently in the hunt to try and maximize their seeding in a tough Western Conference coming out of the All-Star break, and will begin to start settling in on their usual playoff rotation in the process.

Instead, he'll likely spend most of his time with the Nuggets' G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, for the coming weeks, and could get called up to the main roster in the event that he really shines in the lower ranks.

Another factor to keep an eye on surrounding the Nuggets moving deeper into the regular season is that the front office might not be done tweaking their roster despite their latest moves to sign Spencer Jones and now Simpson to a two-way contract.

Denver has one lone roster spot remaining to pursue a veteran on the buyout market for a league minimum, and in turn, add another potential player to add into their rotation for a playoff push in a couple of months. As to who that could be remains to be seen, but I believe that the Nuggets are working behind the scenes to prime this roster for their post-All-Star stretch looming ahead.