Insider reveals Nuggets' plan for Jonas Valanciunas amid Greek interest

The Nuggets will complete their trade with the Kings for Jonas Valanciunas when the NBA lifts its moratorium on Sunday, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Valanciunas has received an offer to join Panathinaikos in Greece, but Stein hears that Denver remains determined to have him honor his NBA contract and serve as Nikola Jokic‘s backup next season.

Valanciunas has two years left on his current deal, with a $10.4M guaranteed salary for 2025-26 and a $10M non-guaranteed salary in 2026-27. Regardless of his mutual interest with Panathinaikos, he can’t get FIBA clearance to sign elsewhere unless the Nuggets release him from that contract.

A report on Friday stated that the 33-year-old center had arrived in Athens and was preparing to undergo a physical and finalize a three-year deal worth 12M euros with the Greek team. Valanciunas didn’t speak with reporters at the airport and hasn’t commented on the situation since the trade to Denver was announced.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that the Nuggets have been trying to acquire Valanciunas for a couple of years to provide a sturdy veteran backup for Jokic. That was an area of need throughout last season and the playoffs, and they created room to take on Valanciunas’ salary by agreeing to send Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn in a deal for Cameron Johnson.

Sacramento will receive veteran big man Dario Saric in return for Valanciunas. Saric turned in a disappointing season after signing with Denver last summer, but he has been a productive reserve with several teams for the past few seasons.