Nuggets Waive Jonas Valanciunas

Valanciunas was traded from Sacramento to Denver last offseason in exchange for Dario Saric and became the Nuggets’ primary backup center behind Nikola Jokic. The 6’11” Lithuanian made 65 appearances (six starts), averaging 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 13.4 minutes per contest while shooting 58.2% from the floor. However, he barely played in the first round of the playoffs vs. Minnesota, totaling just 25 minutes across four outings.

Around the time Denver acquired him last year, Valanciunas reportedly sought a move to the Greek club Panathinaikos, but the Nuggets were unwilling to negotiate a buyout since they envisioned him playing a role for them in 2025/26. A year later, his $10MM salary was determined to be too onerous for a team operating in tax apron territory.

The Nuggets will have until August 29 to decide whether they want to keep the big man’s entire $2MM partial guarantee on the 2026/27 books or spread his cap hit across the next three seasons using the stretch provision. Taking the latter route would reduce his ’26/27 cap charge to about $667K.

As for Valanciunas, he’ll have the freedom that he didn’t have during the 2025 offseason to pick his next team as a free agent. Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that multiple NBA teams are expected to have interest in the former fifth overall pick. The Knicks and Lakers were identified as possible suitors in recent days, though that was before they reached deals with Andre Drummond and Kevon Looney, respectively, so it’s unclear whether they still have Valanciunas on their radar.

Even if Valanciunas does receive some NBA interest, a return to Europe looks like a real possibility. Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com hears that the 34-year-old is considered likely to sign a two-year contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas if he clears waivers, which looks like a relatively safe bet.

As for the Nuggets, they’re currently at about $203.4MM in guaranteed salaries for eight players officially under contract. That figure doesn’t account for qualifying offers for restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones, new minimum-salary deals for Marvin Bagley III and Tyus Jones, and roughly $5.6MM in unlikely incentives for Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon that count toward the team’s apron salary.

In other words, even after waiving Valanciunas, the Nuggets will have their work cut out for them if they hope to remain below the $221.7MM second tax apron.