While there’s still no resolution on his NBA contract situation, Jonas Valanciunas appears to be moving forward with his reported plan to sign with the EuroLeague club Panathinaikos. According to Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops, Valanciunas arrived in Athens on Friday with the intent of undergoing a physical and finalizing the terms of a lucrative three-year deal.
However, Valanciunas remains under contract in the NBA and will be traded from Sacramento to Denver once the July moratorium ends. Reports have indicated that the Nuggets have long had interest in Valanciunas and envisioned a major role for him on their 2025/26 roster, so they’re hoping to convince him to honor his NBA contract.
Still, with all signs pointing to Valanciunas desiring a return to Europe, it certainly seems as if he and his new NBA team are headed for buyout discussions. In that scenario, the Nuggets would likely require him to give up most – if not all – of the $10.4MM guaranteed salary he’s owed next season. That would give Denver some spending flexibility to return to free agency or the trade market in search of a new backup center for Nikola Jokic.
We have more from around the world of international hoops:
- Three-time NBA All-Defensive first-teamer Serge Ibaka is leaving Real Madrid, the Spanish team announced on Wednesday. The 35-year-old big man averaged 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per night during EuroLeague play for the eventual Liga ACB champions. This was Ibaka’s first year with Real Madrid after playing the previous season with Bayern Munich. It has now been more than two years since he was last on an NBA roster.
- Vegeran wing Jordan Nwora is leaving Anadolu Efes, the Turkish club announced (via Twitter). Nwora, who played four seasons in the NBA, primarily with the Bucks and Pacers, has agreed to a deal with Crvena Zvezda out of Belgrade, Serbia, per a Eurohoops report (via Twitter).
- Free agent guard Raul Neto has signed with San Pablo Burgos for the upcoming season, the team announced. The 33-year-old Neto, who appeared in 435 regular season NBA games from 2015-23, played limited minutes in 2024/25 with Barcelona. San Pablo Burgos competes in Spain’s Primera FEB, which is the country’s second division league.
- Sergio Scariolo has agreed to return to Real Madrid as their head coach, according to Eurohoops.net. The Italian coach, who won an NBA title as an assistant for the 2018/19 Raptors, has spent most of his career in the EuroLeague. He had a previous tenure with Real Madrid from 1999-2002, and has been coaching Virtus Bologna for the past three seasons. Scariolo, who has four EuroBasket championships and a pair of Olympic medals to his name, has agreed to a three-year deal with Real Madrid and will officially join the club after coaching the Spanish national team one last time at this year’s EuroBasket tournament.
The NBA is going to have to start adding non compete clauses into contracts.
Either they honor their contract or they don’t play anywhere else.
I get not being able to go to another NBA team, obviously, but I don’t see why you can’t go to a totally different league half way around the world. You better be okay with giving up all of your NBA money first, of course. And the players rights should remain with their NBA team for the duration of their contract.
If a player is willing to do all that I say let them go
Pretty sure he’s gone. Signing a 3yr deal is a pretty big hint, lols.
Why would the Nuggets have to buy him out? He’s choosing to leave his contract. They owe him nothing.