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The Denver Nuggets look set to move ahead with their trade for the Sacramento Kings’ Jonas Valanciunas despite firm interest in him from EuroLeague’s Panathinaikos.
The Lithuanian center was in Greece earlier this weekend to meet team officials despite being under contract with the Kings.
Valanciunas is not allowed to sign with the EuroLeague team unless he is released from his NBA contract. However, the Nuggets will acquire him in a swap for Dario Saric and hope to convince Valanciunas to stay in the NBA as a backup to Nikola Jokic, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Earlier, Panathinaikos officials had claimed that there will be an official reception for Valanciunas in the coming days in Greece.
“In about 10 days we will be here again,” a Panathinaikos spokesperson said, hinting at a celebratory reception at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos Airport which would be attended by “thousands of friends,” per HoopsHype.
Valanciunas has agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with Panathinaikos. However, the Nuggets intend to move ahead with the trade in a situation that is akin to how Sasha Vezenkov’s transfer to Olympiacos played out last year in July. However, unlike the Toronto Raptors, who were willing to let Vezenkov return to Europe, the Nuggets seem intent on trying to keep Valanciunas.
Valanciunas will enter the second year of a three-year, $30 million contract he signed as part of a sign-and-trade with the Washington Wizards, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season. The 33-year-old center was drafted fifth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. In his 937 games in the NBA thus far, he has averaged 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds, almost a double-double.
He averaged 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season, playing 81 times combined for the Wizards and the Kings. The Nuggets view the veteran as a capable backup to Jokic and seem intent on keeping him. However, Valanciunas may have already played his last game in the NBA if they fail to do so.
