The Denver Nuggets did not have a selection in this year’s NBA Draft and did not trade back to acquire one, but they did add a player to the team on Thursday

The Nuggets’ first-rounder was sent out as part of the payment for the Aaron Gordon trade way back in 2021. The Orlando Magic took Michigan State’s Jase Richardson with that pick at No. 25. Denver had also already sent out their second-round pick, too, as part of another deal.

Boss Josh Kroenke hinted that the Nuggets could look at trading into the event, with some speculation about a late second-rounder. Co-VP Ben Tenzer said the Nuggets were “moderately close” to trading into the first or second round. That did not happen, leaving Denver’s only way to acquire a rookie this season being via undrafted free agency.

The Nuggets only have three open roster spots, and with some pretty obvious needs, it’s unlikely a youngster is going to get a guaranteed deal. Instead, Denver will look at adding young players via two-way contracts, which allow players to split time between the NBA and G League while not counting toward the main roster. Denver can give out three of these contracts.

Last year, the Nuggets had those three spots occupied by Trey Alexander, PJ Hall and Spencer Jones. Each played less than 125 minutes and mostly in garbage time. Tenzer says some of those players could be back next year, but at least one player won’t be because the Nuggets did sign a player on Thursday.

Missouri guard Tamar Bates signed a two-way deal with Denver, per an announcement he made at his draft event. There was a cool moment with his family and friends celebrating that the Tiger is going to get a good shot at being an NBA player.

BREAKING: #Mizzou Star Tamar Bates is signing a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets

Emotional moment! pic.twitter.com/uP0cPEIM7D

— Nathalie Jones (@NathalieABC17) June 27, 2025

Bates was named to the NABC All-Central District Second Team for his performance while starting all 34 games for Mizzou during the 2024-25 season. He was third on the Tigers with 13.3 points per game, while setting career highs by shooting 50.8 percent overall, 39.7 percent from 3-point range and 94.6 percent from the free-throw line. Bates led the SEC in each of the past two years in free-throw percentage and was the best shooter from the stripe in the nation this past year. Bates was a wild 220 for 238 over his four years of school, which was split between Missouri and Indiana.

Bates’ best moment came in leading the Tigers to a win over the nation’s top-ranked team, scoring 29 points to go with five steals against No. 1 Kansas. He was named SEC Player of the Week and NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week following his performance versus the Jayhawks.

Bates can only spend a certain amount of time up with the Nuggets next season, but he can play his way into a permanent roster spot if he earns it.

The Nuggets have had success with two-way players in the past, especially early in the Nikola Jokic era, where all of Monte Morris, PJ Dozer and Torrey Craig turned into strong rotation players. To a lesser extent, the team got some good minutes from Markus Howard, Bol Bol and Davon Reed.

While Bates might not make you scream and shout, it’s a player to keep in mind as the Nuggets continue to search for depth — the thing even Jokic called for.