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Jonas Valanciunas reportedly could leave NBA after being traded

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 5:50 PM ET

If the Denver Nuggets were hoping to get contributions from Jonas Valanciunas after trading for him earlier this week, they might be sorely disappointed.

Valanciunas is close to accepting a contract offer to play for EuroLeague power Panathinaikos, according to Dontas Urbonas and Karolis Tiskevicius of BasketNews. Valanciunas received a three-year contract offer from the Greek team, and is drawn to the stability it would present him with coupled with the chance to play a major role on a EuroLeague contender.

Marc Stein of The Stein Line also reported that a possible return to Europe “holds strong appeal” to the veteran center.

League sources confirm that the lure of a return to Europe holds strong appeal to Jonas Valanciunas … which could lead to him seeking a buyout from his NBA contract to join Panathinaikos as @Urbodo reports.

Would scuttle what seemed like such a promising addition for Denver. https://t.co/U7UAb97t9v
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2025

The Nuggets had agreed a trade with the Sacramento Kings that would see them acquire Valanciunas in exchange for reserve forward Dario Saric. Denver had hoped Valanciunas would be a valuable backup to Nikola Jokic, but that looks to be in doubt.

As the trade has not yet been officially announced, it is not clear if it will still go through or if the two sides will simply call off the agreement.

The 33-year-old Valanciunas split last season between Washington and Sacramento, where he averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game. Were he to remain with Denver, he would have a good chance of moving beyond one unfortunate reputation, but the lure of a major role in Europe may prove too strong to resist.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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