Jonas Valanciunas officially confirmed his intention to honor his contract and play for the Denver Nuggets next season despite a strong push from Greek EuroLeague club team Panathinaikos to lure the Lithuanian big man back overseas.
The Nuggets landed Valanciunas in a deal with the Sacramento Kings that went official earlier this month, but reports quickly emerged that Panathinaikos was also attempting to sign the 6-foot-11 center. That led to a confusing situation given that Valanciunas still has one fully guaranteed year left on his deal worth around $10 million.
“I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me,” Valanciunas told BasketNews on Monday. “The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship.”
It’s the first official statement Valanciunas has made on the matter since reports first emerged and comes three days after Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer said there were “no concerns” about bringing Valanciunas to Denver.
“There’s been nothing but healthy conversations in terms of him honoring his contract and him excited to be a Nugget,” Tenzer said of Valanciunas last week.
The trade for the 33-year-old Valanciunas looks to be the icing on a productive offseason that saw the front office tandem of Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace remodel the team. The moves were in the wake of a Game 7 loss to NBA champion Oklahoma City in the second round.
The Nuggets also picked up forward Cameron Johnson in a deal that sent Michael Porter Jr. — a key contributor to their title run in 2023 — to Brooklyn. Denver added Bruce Brown, who was part of their championship run, and shooting guard/small forward Tim Hardaway Jr.
Tenzer said the team has have had productive talks with Valanciunas, who is slated to play for Lithuania at FIBA EuroBasket this summer. Someone from the Nuggets might even venture over there.
“Their plan is for him to get here sooner than later, but still working through that,” Wallace said. “We’ll approach it at that time.”
Valanciunas is coming off a season in which he split time between Washington and Sacramento. He averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2 assists over 81 games.
Denver is counting on him to give three-time MVP Nikola Jokic the occasional breather. The 30-year-old Jokic averaged a career-high 36.7 minutes per game last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
