After what was a dream 24 hours to start the offseason for the Nuggets, they’ve been hit with the tough news that newly acquired big man Jonas Valanciunas wants to leave the NBA for Europe. The Nuggets and Kings agreed on a trade to bring JV to Denver and send Dario Saric to Sacramento.
But reports started trickling out on Thursday that a Greek club, Panathanaikos, has offered Jonas a three-year deal and is trying to lure him to the EuroLeague. Apparently, the interest is mutual, and Valanciunas would like to be bought out of the final year of his NBA contract so he can go overseas.
The Lithuanian center is 33 years old and has played in the NBA for 13 seasons. He has one more year guaranteed on his deal for $10.4 million, but seems ready to forego a good chunk of money in order to return to Europe.
Trade will still go through, no matter what
At first, there was talk that the trade would be voided as it couldn’t be made official until Sunday. But Marc Stein and others have reported that Valanciunas’ thinking won’t affect the deal either way. The Kings still need to make the move for the salary relief it created, and the Nuggets should be happy just to get off of Saric’s deal without surrendering an asset.
Is there any hope left, at this point, for Denver to sway Jonas Valančiūnas to stay in the NBA?
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 4, 2025
The Nuggets’ trade with Sacramento remains on course to go through Sunday.
Numerous European reports say Valančiūnas is soon traveling to Greece to meet with Panathinaikos officials. https://t.co/7FrKoRI8re
The Nuggets are reportedly still trying to convince JV to stay for another season. He would be an excellent addition for Denver and would bolster the backup center position in a way that we haven’t seen since Nikola Jokic got to town.
Unfortunately, it sounds like JV is pretty steadfast in his decision as he’s already in Greece, preparing for the move to the EuroLeague. It will take a lot of convincing from Denver, but the offer of backing up the best player in the world on a team contending for a title while making over $10 million should at least hold some weight.
Nuggets will gain access to full MLE if Valanciunas leaves for Europe
Losing Valanciunas before ever really having him would be a brutal blow, but the one silver lining is that the Nuggets would gain access to the full $14.1 million midlevel exception. They could immediately start using that money to add more free agents, likely a new backup center, and a ball handler.
There are still some good options available, like Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon, to name a couple, but a lot of the talent has already been poached in the first few days of free agency. The situation is still salvageable, and this shouldn’t ruin what has objectively been an outstanding offseason for the Nuggets, but it’s definitely a little bit of a disappointment and leaves the front office with some work to do.