Despite all the ridiculous rumors and fanfare around it, the much-ballyhooed trade between the Nuggets and Kings, exchanging Jonas Valanciunas and Dario Saric, was finally made official on Sunday afternoon.
However, this part of the equation never seemed to be in question, even with the ongoing drama around Valanciunas and his future. Upon reporting of the trade agreement, news came out that Jonas wanted to leave the NBA and sign with the Greek club, Panathinaikos of the EuroLeague.
But apparently, the Nuggets were never aware of this and agreed to the trade with the full expectation that Valanciunas would be honoring his contract and playing in Denver this season. JV is due $10.4 million this coming season and has a team option for $10 million in 2026-27.
Valanciunas was hoping to be bought out and was supposedly even willing to give back all of the money in the deal in exchange for being permitted to leave for Europe. But as of Sunday, the trade is official, and the Nuggets have no intention of allowing Jonas out of his contract for next season.
Nuggets and Valanciunas still need to get on same page
While the deal may be official and the Nuggets have made their intentions clear, we still haven’t exactly gotten word that everything has been smoothed out. Last we heard from Jonas, he was in Athens meeting with Panathinaikos, before traveling to his home country of Lithuania, where he gave a cryptic, vague interview about his playing future.
There have been conflicting reports coming from different reporters and even different countries. It’s still far from clear how this situation is going to shake out, but the Nuggets are operating as if Valanciunas will be on the team next season, playing an important bench role.
That sounds great, and Valanciunas has a contract to honor, but at the same time, this doesn’t exactly feel warm and fuzzy. The vibes around the team have been incredible this offseason, and with the other new additions, the Nuggets seem ready to contend for another championship in 2026.
The last thing they need is a malcontent in the locker room, and if Valanciunas truly wants to leave the NBA, to the point that he is unhappy playing in Denver, then that seems like a problem. The Nuggets need all 15 players on the roster to be locked in and focused on one goal: winning a title.
Hopefully, this has all been a big misunderstanding, and the front office, coaches, and players can get through to Valanciunas and convince him to get on board. It’s a great opportunity from a basketball perspective for him to back up the best player in the world on a team vying to win it all.
But if his heart isn’t in it and he just wants to be closer to family, it’s hard to convince him otherwise. Ultimately, the Nuggets will do what they think is best for the franchise, but it doesn’t seem like we’ve heard the end of this saga just yet.