The trade between the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings that swapped Jonas Valanciunas and Dario Saric was finally made official.
The confirmation of the deal, which was first reported by ESPN on July 1, was more closely monitored after news broke that Valanciunas was being heavily pursued by Greece’s Panathinaikos. According to reports, Panathinaikos has been attempting to lure Valanciunas away from the NBA.
However the Nuggets have maintained that they expect Valanciunas to honor his NBA contract, sources told ESPN, which has two years and approximately $20 million remaining on it. Only this upcoming season, in which he’s slated to make $10.3 million, is fully guaranteed.
While the trade has been made official, there has been no formal update on Valanciunas’ situation.
The Nuggets have the 6-foot-11 veteran center slated to play a pivotal role as Nikola Jokic’s backup. Denver has long searched for a center to help the Nuggets when Jokic is off the floor resting.
Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Kings and Wizards last season, while Saric struggled to see the floor for Denver.
Valanciunas’ NBA contract is binding and does not allow him to pursue other professional opportunities unless both sides reach an agreement on a buyout, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Denver’s new front office of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace has been busy retooling the team this offseason. In addition to agreeing to trade for Valanciunas, Denver swung a deal to move Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Cameron Johnson, sources told ESPN.
The Nuggets also agreed to sign free agents Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. to give Jokic more help as well.
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.
