Zalgiris Kaunas Announces Two-Year Deal With Jonas Valanciunas

Valanciunas’ agreement with Zalgiris Kaunas had long been rumored, even before he was waived by the Nuggets last week. There were conflicting reports on Monday about whether or not it was a done deal, with the big man said to be fully evaluating his NBA options before formally committing to the EuroLeague club. Two days later, it appears he has finalized his decision.

Valanciunas, 34, first sought a move to Europe 12 months ago, when he was being pursued by Panathinaikos in Greece. He traveled to Athens last July in anticipation of accepting a three-year offer, but the signing fell through when the Nuggets were unwilling to negotiate a buyout of his NBA contract.

After being acquired last summer from Sacramento in exchange for Dario Saric, Valanciunas became Denver’s primary backup to 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.

The cap-strapped Nuggets cut Valanciunas in order to avoid paying his full $10MM salary for 2026/27 — only $2MM was guaranteed. Although he reportedly drew some NBA interest, Valanciunas’ preference always seemed to be a return to Europe, where he was a star for several years before coming stateside in 2012. With Zalgiris, he will join a roster that includes several players with NBA ties, including Carsen Edwards, Saben Lee, Nigel Williams-Goss and Sterling Brown.

The fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Valanciunas has spent the past 14 seasons in the NBA with Toronto, Memphis, New Orleans, Washington, Sacramento and Denver. He earned second-team All-Rookie honors in 2013, appeared in 1,002 regular season games (854 starts) and holds career averages of 12.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per night.

According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, Valanciunas is expected to earn in the neighborhood of €5 million (approximately $5.5MM) on his two-year contract with Zalgiris. A two-year, minimum-salary deal in the NBA would’ve paid him close to $8MM, but that’s a pre-tax figure, whereas salaries for players in Europe are typically reported based on the post-tax total.