The Nuggets are using their last available two-way contract to take another swing at raw scoring upside.
Cam Whitmore is joining the team on that two-way deal, two league sources told The Denver Post on Friday, confirming a report by ESPN’s Shams Charania. The 22-year-old wing was drafted 20th overall by the Rockets in 2023, but he hasn’t been able to stick yet in Houston or Washington. He joins KJ Simpson and rookie Bryce Hopkins to complete Denver’s trio of two-way players for the upcoming season.
Players on two-way contracts can be assigned back and forth between the NBA and G League to play in either league without their salaries counting against the cap. They can be active for up to 50 NBA games during the regular season. They’re ineligible to appear in NBA playoff games unless they’re promoted to a spot on the 15-man roster. Last season, the Nuggets promoted Spencer Jones from a two-way to a standard contract. They currently have one open roster spot as training camp nears.
Whitmore stands out as an unusually high-end talent for a two-way contract. He has averaged 10.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game across the first three years of his NBA career. But he was never able to earn a consistent role in Houston, where he was surrounded by a cast of other young players.
Despite his pro experience, he’s now the youngest player on Denver’s roster, including the other two-way players.
Whitmore came off the bench in all 21 games he played for the Wizards last season. His 3-point efficiency plummeted to a career-low 28.6%, but he also converted 54% of his shot attempts inside the arc — the best 2-point percentage of his career so far, albeit on a small sample size.
A Maryland native and one-and-done college player at Villanova, Whitmore changed teams as part of the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade this August. It had started as a three-team deal between the Nuggets, Cavaliers and Clippers, but it expanded to involve five teams, including the Wizards. Whitmore was something of a book-keeping afterthought in the transaction, getting sent from Washington to Cleveland.
The Cavaliers proceeded to waive-and-stretch his salary. They’re on the hook for $1.8 million in dead cap space for each of the next three seasons. A month later, the Nuggets were able to take advantage of a thin market for Whitmore’s services, scooping him up for a $0 cap hit. He has already reported to Denver for informal workouts ahead of training camp, a source told The Post.
Denver now has two 2023 first-round picks on its roster, with Whitmore joining No. 29 pick Julian Strawther.
