Denver’s trade with Sacramento to acquire the 6-foot-11 Jonas Valančiūnas for Dario Saric became official last weekend.
DENVER (AP) — A backup plan to bring in a backup center to spell Nikola Jokic no longer appears necessary.
The Denver Nuggets expect Jonas Valančiūnas to be with the team when the season starts amid speculation over his NBA future.
Denver’s trade with Sacramento to acquire the 6-foot-11 Valančiūnas for Dario Saric became official last weekend. Leading up that, reports emerged of Valančiūnas being courted by the Greek EuroLeague club team, Panathinaikos. It’s led to a confusing situation given that Valančiūnas still has two years remaining on his NBA deal that would pay him a total of more than $20 million.
Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer attempted to tamp down any conjecture over Valančiūnas’ arrival during a news conference Friday that was set up to introduce Cam Johnson.
“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.
So, no concerns that Valančiūnas might not be with the Nuggets to start the season?
“No concerns,” Tenzer said.
First look at the fresh threads 👀 pic.twitter.com/xUdlrzrH4f
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) July 18, 2025
The trade for the 33-year-old Valančiūnas 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 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 they’ve have had productive talks with Valančiūnas, who’s slated to play for Lithuania at FIBA EuroBasket this summer. Someone from the Nuggets may even venture over there.
“Their plan is for him to get here sooner than later, but still working through that,” Wallace explained. “We’ll approach it at that time.”
