The Nuggets have done everything correctly this offseason, yet they’ve been dealt some brutal luck as one of their key acquisitions, Jonas Valanciunas, would apparently rather play in Europe than in Denver. The veteran big man is in Greece, being courted by Panathanaikos of the EuroLeague, where he hopes to sign a three-year contract.
Valanciunas was acquired via trade with the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Dario Saric. But now, Valanciunas is hoping to be bought out of his contract, essentially retiring from the NBA. The trade is still slated to go through as scheduled on Sunday, so the Nuggets still get the benefit of freeing themselves from Saric and his contract, but now they have a hole to fill at backup center.
Valanciunas would have been a perfect backup for Nikola Jokic, something the Nuggets haven’t had in ages. But, unless Denver is able to talk Jonas into playing in Denver next season, it’s back to the drawing board.
The team still has Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes as options, but neither player should be relied upon for heavy minutes on a contending team, and they are both likely better suited to play power forward anyway.
Nuggets can go hunting for a center with MLE
The good news about the Valanciunas news is that the Nuggets will open up the full midlevel exception, so they’ll have some serious spending power to add a new backup center. The bad news is that most free agents have signed, and the pool of options is fairly limited.
Al Horford would be a dream addition, but he is also being wooed by the Warriors and Lakers, while also considering retirement. Beyond Al, there aren’t a lot of great options as true, reliable backup centers.
The team also has a sizable traded player exception and can look to the trade market, possibly targeting someone like Nick Richards or Andre Drummond. Those aren’t great choices, but we’re talking about a limited role and someone who likely won’t even factor into the playoff rotation.
It doesn’t matter who exactly fills the role, but it’s paramount that the role is filled. The Nuggets finally have the depth they need, but the most important player to keep fresh is Jokic. Denver needs someone who can keep the team afloat while he rests and can eat innings when the three-time MVP needs a night off.
Luckily, they have time and options, but both of those things are running out, and the Nuggets need to act quickly. They absolutely cannot afford to go into next season without a true backup center, especially after all this great work that has been done to build out the rotation.