Nuggets' 2-Way Players Who Matter This Season–

The Denver Nuggets made some noise late in the NBA offseason last week when they decided to sign 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore on a two-way contract, coming only a few days away from training camp getting started for their 2026-27 campaign.

The Denver Nuggets are signing 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore on a two-way NBA deal, sources tell ESPN. Whitmore enters his fourth NBA season after averaging 10.5 points and 3.3 rebounds over 119 career games -- and has already joined the Nuggets for workouts in Denver. pic.twitter.com/WBhDfTIhOQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 18, 2026

However, Whitmore's addition now makes for three two-way contracts on their roster heading into next season.

Denver has remained diligent in filling out their other two spots before the news of adding Whitmore surfaced, and there's a chance that those two names could see some playing time at some point over the course of the next several months.

With that in mind, let's take a look at what the other two Denver two-way signings have to offer as we get closer to tipping off their 2026-27 regular season:

KJ Simpson

The Nuggets brought in 2024 second-round pick KJ Simpson for a brief stretch at the end of last season, as he appeared in six games to average a little more than five minutes per game in the appearances he had.

Now, just a few weeks away from the start of next season, the Nuggets have shown a clear willingness to bring Simpson into the year once again as a presence on their G League roster, and potentially someone that could get a dose of minutes in the backcourt for Denver later this year as well.

The aspect of Hopkins' presence on the Nuggets' roster that sticks out the most is the fact that he's a guard on a roster that lacks real depth at the position. Outside of Jamal Murray and Tyus Jones, the names who can run the one for Denver are very slim.

So if there are any injury troubles that surface for Denver at all this season, and Simpson is still lingering around the facility as a two-way option who can be called up, the route to getting minutes his way is far from outlandish to imagine.

Bryce Hopkins

The Nuggets had two second-round picks to utilize in this year's draft, and the latter of those choices was used to select St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 wing who has solid size and could have upside on both ends of the floor, and enters as a rookie with a bit more experience at 24 years old.

After transferring this past season following three years with Providence, Hopkins finished his final year at college with the Red Storm averaging 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists a night. It was enough for Denver to take a flier on him in the back-end of the second round, and now have him signed onto a two-way deal.

It's more likely than not that Hopkins spends most of his time with the Grand Rapids Gold this season, but just as recently as last season, we've seen two-way signees out of Denver like Spencer Jones find their way into a big role as the year goes on, inevitably becoming a valuable rotational piece and on a traditional contract by the end of the season.

If Hopkins can find a route to being a contributor on the defensive side of the ball, that can clear a path for him to get minutes. However, that also relies on him being able to hold his own on the offensive end, where he was a career 32.4% shooter from three in college.

So there's potential here, but also big questions as well.

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