Apr 13, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Jonas Valanciunas (17) runs down the court during the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images John Hefti-Imagn Images

Greek Team Looking to Sign Jonas Valanciunas Releases Nuggets Statement

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 7:19 PM ET

The Denver Nuggets thought they had finally found an ideal backup center for Nikola Jokic when they were able to convince the Sacramento Kings to trade Jonas Valanciunas for Dario Saric. It was a brilliant trade to give them a rotational-level player, especially considering that Saric couldn't crack into the rotation at all.

However, it wasn't guaranteed that Valanciunas would play for the Nuggets, as rumors started to come out that Panathinaikos, one of the top clubs in Europe and located in Athens, Greece, has been heavily pursuing Valanciunas with a strong multi-year offer.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Valanciunas even flew to Athens to meet with the club, clearly showing interest in wanting to return to Europe. However, he has a guaranteed contract with the Nuggets for this upcoming season, and he has a non-guaranteed deal for the 2026-27 season that will become fully guaranteed on June 29th, 2026.

Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos was recently on an Instagram live, where he said they still want to sign the Lithuanian center, while also saying Valanciunas wants to play for them. "We want to sign him, he wants to join us, if his team doesn’t say ‘yes’, what can we do?” Giannakopoulos asked.

Panathinaikos’ owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos on Jonas Valanciunas:

“We want to sign him, he wants to join us, if his team doesn’t say ‘yes’, what can we do?”

(Via Instagram Live)
— Dionysis Aravantinos (@AravantinosDA) July 11, 2025

The Nuggets have made it clear they want Valanciunas on the team. They've long been searching for a backup to Nikola Jokic after years of the elder DeAndre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji backing him up. Valanciunas can come in for 12 to 15 minutes per game and still almost put up a double-double, which would be a massive improvement for the Nuggets.

He just has to be willing to play and not want to phone it in for next season.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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