Jonas Valančiūnas was noncommittal about his NBA future Tuesday after reports surfaced that he verbally agreed to a contract in Greece shortly before being traded by the Kings to the Nuggets for Dario Šarić.
The trade to Denver isn’t official, but is expected to go through sometime this week after the Nuggets’ trade to acquire Cam Johnson from the Nets for Michael Porter Jr. was announced Tuesday.
The Nuggets were unaware of Valančiūnas being in talks with EuroLeague power Panathinaikos of Greece while trying to acquire him, a league source told Front Office Sports. Valančiūnas is about to enter the second year of a three-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Kings a year ago. The final year of his deal is not guaranteed.
While speaking at the B8 Summit in his home country of Lithuania on Tuesday, Valančiūnas was cryptic when discussing his NBA future.
“We’ll only find out when the first game is played,” Valančiūnas said, according to a local television station. “Everything will be clear.”
“When the trade is finalized, we’ll come up with a plan,” Valančiūnas continued. “They [Nuggets] will express their wishes, how they think, how they see it … medical, other details. That will depend on the team.”
Valančiūnas did not seem to indicate whether he prefers to play in the NBA or Europe next season. Valančiūnas’s comments came after he was asked whether the trade would impact his commitment to play for Lithuania in this summer’s EuroBasket tournament, which starts in August.
NBA contracts do not let players jump to European teams—unless they’re bought out. Despite the Panathinaikos negotiations, the Nuggets have told Valančiūnas’s agents that they expect him to honor his NBA contract, the league source told FOS. Valančiūnas is represented by Excel Sports.
Denver targeted Valančiūnas to be a backup center to perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokić, as part of a massive roster restructuring that saw the departure of Porter and the acquisition of Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown, the latter of whom was part of the team’s 2023 NBA championship squad. The deals are part of an effort to give the team more depth around Jokić after two early playoff exits since their title.
Valančiūnas has played the past 13 seasons as a member of the Kings, Raptors, Wizards, Pelicans, and Grizzlies. His NBA career earnings are $145.7 million.
The flurry of transactions stems from a new-look Nuggets front office co-led by Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace after the organization shockingly fired GM Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone toward the end of the regular season.
