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Vinny Benedetto: Peyton Watson is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Portland. G League assignments DaRon Holmes II, Curtis Jones and KJ Simpson are the only others listed on Denver’s injury report.
KJ Simpson played his first meaningful minutes since joining the team on a two-way contract last week. His fast-break flush late in the third quarter capped an 11-0 Nuggets run and sent them to the fourth with a 77-67 lead, the first double-digit margin of the night. That run carried over with a pair of buckets from backup center Jonas Valanciunas. When Jokic was out of the game, Adelman continued to ride a bench unit with Johnson staggering — not that he had a surplus of other options with Murray, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson all out. “KJ didn’t show up here thinking he was going to play,” Adelman said. “He warmed up, it seemed like, four hours before the game. That’s his warm-up time. So he’s been sitting around here not doing anything. And then Jamal gets sick. He’s out. I felt like it was appropriate to let him play in the first half out of fairness, so gave him a few minutes there. And I personally thought he looked comfortable.”
Among the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans in the crowd for Denver’s first NBA championship parade in 2023, at least one was a future Nugget. KJ Simpson allowed himself to daydream about his future as he watched the floats pass by. One was occupied by an acquaintance. He and Peyton Watson were born a month apart in 2001. They played high school hoops against each other in Southern California. Simpson knew Watson, knew his family. Now he was looking up at them from the sidewalk while they partied on a bus.
“That was the closest I had been to seeing or being there to experience a championship team, I guess,” Simpson said. “Seeing them just go by. The job is finished. That was mad inspiring to me. Like, man, I want to feel that one day.” Almost three years later, Simpson is back in Colorado, where he’s beloved for his three-year CU career and March Madness heroics in 2024. The former Buffs guard signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets on Thursday.
Simpson’s excursions from Boulder to Denver were almost always to watch the Nuggets or the Avalanche. (One of his teammates, Luke O’Brien, was an especially big Avs fan.) He has an old Snapchat post from Ball Arena saved to his phone. “I’m gonna play here one day,” he had posted. “I didn’t know I meant I was gonna be a Denver Nugget, you know?” he said, laughing. “I just meant in the NBA.”
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The Denver Nuggets have signed guard KJ Simpson to a two-way contract, Ben Tenzer, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, and Jonathan Wallace, Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, announced today.
Shams Charania: 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.
Charlotte Hornets PR: INJURY REPORT: @hornets vs WAS 1/24: Mason Plumlee (R Groin Surgery) and KJ Simpson (L Hip Flexor Strain) are out, Ryan Kalkbrenner (R Wrist Sprain) and Brandon Miller (L Ankle Impingement) are probable
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Rod Boone: LaMelo is out against Milwaukee tomorrow. Pat Connaughton (illness), Collin Sexton (right ankle strain) and KJ Simpson (L AC joint sprain) are probable.
NBA Communications: The NBA 2K26 All-Summer League Second Team: 🏀 Ron Holland II, @DetroitPistons 🏀 Isaac Jones, @SacramentoKings 🏀 Kon Knueppel, @hornets 🏀 Ajay Mitchell, @okcthunder 🏀 KJ Simpson, @hornets
