Breaking NBA News: Another Big Turn of Events In Valanciunas Saga With Nuggets

A few days ago, it was reported that veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, just two days after being traded to the Denver Nuggets, was strongly considering taking his talents overseas to Panathinaikos in Greece.

But now the Nuggets are firing back, saying they will force Valanciunas to honor his contract, which still has two years to run at a $10 million AAV.

Denver has informed Jonas Valanciunas' reps that the franchise fully intends to have him honor his contract as the Nuggets view Valanciunas as a critical center addition to back up Nikola Jokic and play alongside him. Greek team Panathinaikos pursued Valanciunas in recent days. https://t.co/a6SGnWFeLh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2025

The Nuggets have informed JV, per Shams Charania, that "the franchise fully intends to have him honor his contract as the Nuggets view Valanciunas as a critical center addition to back up Nikola Jokic and play alongside him".

It was a stunning announcement earlier this week, when Basketnews reported that Valanciunas was "close" to signing on with the Greek team for next season. It was supposedly a three-year contract worth $14 million USD (12 million Euros).

No doubt that the Nuggets were taken aback, as they had just dealt Dario Saric to the Sacramento Kings a mere 48 hours earlier to obtain JV to give them help backing up Jokic.

Valanciunas averaged 13.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 25.1 minutes per game for the Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings last season, after the Wiz had signed him in free agency to a three-year deal last summer.

The Lithuanian big man was the 5th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He's also played for the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans.