On Thursday, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Denver Nuggets and Jonas Valančiūnas amended the final season (subscription required) of the center's three-year deal, which he signed with the Wizards in 2024.
Fischer wrote that the two sides "mutually agreed to move the guarantee date on his 2026-27 salary from June 29 to July 8." It gives the Nuggets the option to use Valančiūnas' contract in a trade, rather than decide on his future before the start of free agency. That doesn't mean Denver is already planning to trade Valančiūnas, but the importance lies in the flexibility it gives the organization.
Fischer added that Valančiūnas was incentivized to amend his contract because, rather than the Nuggets (or another team) potentially waiving him before the guarantee date, leaving him with none of his $10 million salary for the 2026-27 season, the big man is guaranteed at least $2 million. It's a move that benefits both sides.
Nuggets and Valanciunas amend the final season of his three-year contract
Denver committed highway robbery over the summer when it traded Dario Šarić, a player who fell out of the rotation shortly after the Nuggets signed him in 2024, to the Kings for Valančiūnas in a player swap. The deal almost became too good to be true, as rumors swirled that Valančiūnas wanted to leave the NBA to play in Greece, but Denver expected him to honor his contract, and he did. He's happy to be with the Nuggets.
Through the first seven games of the season, Valančiūnas is averaging 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game for the Nuggets in 11.9 minutes, shooting 53.5% from the field. He hasn't played as much as fans expected (it's still early), but he has delivered in the minutes he has played.
One of the motivations behind trading for Valančiūnas, a more than suitable backup for Nikola Jokić, is that the star center won't need to play in as many minutes during the regular season. Last season, Jokić averaged a career-high 36.7 minutes per game. So far this season, he's averaging 35.1 minutes per game. It's a relief for Jokić (and everyone else) that when he's out of the game, the Nuggets have Valančiūnas.
As Fischer noted, it's still way too early to predict how Denver will use Valančiūnas' amended contract during the offseason. The way that the next 77-plus games play out will determine that. It never hurts to plan for the future, though. It's worth knowing that if the Nuggets want to throw Valančiūnas into a trade before free agency begins, they can.