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The Denver Nuggets find themselves embroiled in one of the most intriguing stories of the NBA offseason with their pursuit of Jonas Valanciunas. While the Lithuanian veteran is eyeing a contract with EuroLeague giant Panathinaikos, he is still under an NBA contract and cannot sign unless released by the Nuggets.
Valanciunas met with Panathinaikos officials this weekend and is reportedly eyeing a $12 million deal with the Greek side. This comes after Denver was poised to land him as Nikola Jokic's backup after agreeing to a swap with the Sacramento Kings for Dario Saric. While the Nuggets view Valanciunas as the ideal Jokic backup, the Kings need Saric's reduced salary in order to see through the Dennis Schroder acquisition they have already agreed upon.
In addition to him being seen as the ideal fit, the Nuggets also seem hard-pressed due to the lack of alternatives, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Valanciunas potentially forfeiting even all of his $10.4 million salary would unlock Denver's $14.1 million mid-level exception, but the pickings are slim.
The Nuggets could potentially offer Al Horford a one-year deal. However, Horford is expected to join the Golden State Warriors despite Dub Nation only having the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level left to offer him, with no other attractive pivots available to Denver. This has led to the Nuggets officials being currently determined to enforce Valanciunas' contract and see him join the roster for next season, per Stein.
This is despite the player seemingly wanting to sign this three-year deal with Panathinaikos, who have already promised a celebratory reception at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in around 10 days. A similar situation had played out before Sasha Vezenkov's transfer to Olympiacos last July.
The player had acquired the requisite letter of clearance after forfeiting his entire salary for the 2024-25 season, an option which remains available to Valanciunas as well. However, it is up to the Nuggets to accept, as things stand, they look poised to enforce the contract.
