The Nuggets aren’t done dealing as they’ve made another trade on day two of free agency, sending Dario Saric to the Kings in exchange for Jonas Valanciunas. This is another incredible win for Denver’s new front office, turning a disastrous contract in Saric into a rock-solid backup center.
The Sacramento Kings are trading Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Dario Saric, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/D2Xmbm4DN1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
The Kings saved a bit of money and gained an expiring contract in Saric, but Dario proved to be unplayable last season. The contract has been a nightmare almost since the day it was signed, and for the Nuggets to be able to move this dead weight without attaching an asset, and bringing back a player who will help immediately is amazing.
Valanciunas is the best backup center of Jokic era
Valanciunas is past his prime, but he should still be the best backup center Jokic has had in years. He’ll be a massive upgrade over the likes of DeAndre Jordan and Dario Saric, and gives Denver a true bench frontcourt.
Valanciunas is a giant plodder, a rebounding machine with great touch around the basket and the ability to hit shots if left open. The 13-year NBA veteran should have a small role that’s perfectly suited to his style and skills. He’ll likely play about 10-15 minutes a game and should be able to eat minutes in games when Jokic needs a night off.
This should help Jokic stay fresh during the regular season and allow the Nuggets to survive bench minutes with a true NBA-caliber center for the first time in a long time.
Nuggets may not be done adding to roster
This move adds a bit of money to Denver’s books. Neither trade is official, so there’s still time for deals to be rolled together and parameters to be added to manipulate cap issues. But this move will likely hard cap the Nuggets at the first apron.
That still affords them some wiggle room as they should have an exception to sign a player for above $5 million plus minimums. If they can go out and land a backup point guard, this will start looking like an absolute dream offseason.
The new front office has done incredible work in the past 24 hours, essentially turning MPJ and Saric into Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Valanciunas while lowering the payroll and trading just one pick.
The roster and future outlook are both looking better by the minute, and Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace likely aren’t done. These two guys had a lot on their plates, and fans were rightfully skeptical. But so far, they’ve hit a home run with their first run at a transaction cycle. Let’s see if they can pull another rabbit out of the hat.