July 6: The Nuggets have informed Valanciunas’ representatives that they “fully intend” to have him honor his NBA contract and view him as a critical addition to their roster, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
July 5: The Nuggets will complete their trade with the Kings for Jonas Valanciunas when the NBA lifts its moratorium on Sunday, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Valanciunas has received an offer to join Panathinaikos in Greece, but Stein hears that Denver remains determined to have him honor his NBA contract and serve as Nikola Jokic‘s backup next season.
Valanciunas has two years left on his current deal, with a $10.4MM guaranteed salary for 2025/26 and a $10MM non-guaranteed salary in 2026/27. Regardless of his mutual interest with Panathinaikos, he can’t get FIBA clearance to sign elsewhere unless the Nuggets release him from that contract.
A report on Friday stated that the 33-year-old center had arrived in Athens and was preparing to undergo a physical and finalize a three-year deal worth 12 million Euros with the Greek team. Valanciunas didn’t speak with reporters at the airport and hasn’t commented on the situation since the trade to Denver was announced.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that the Nuggets have been trying to acquire Valanciunas for a couple of years to provide a sturdy veteran backup for Jokic. That was an area of need throughout last season and the playoffs, and they created room to take on Valanciunas’ salary by agreeing to send Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn in a deal for Cameron Johnson.
Sacramento will receive veteran big man Dario Saric in return for Valanciunas. Saric turned in a disappointing season after signing with Denver last summer, but he has been a productive reserve with several teams for the past few seasons.
Nugs shouldn’t force him… that’ll just become locker room cancer. Backup centers are abundant. Bring back Plumlee or go Biyombo.
Plumlee signed already with CHO I believe.
Having to go from JV to plumlee or biyombo is insane? There’s no way you watch these players play and say “yeah man they can fit in that role”.
I’m sure they’re not forcing him. If he wanted out right now, he’d be out. I’m sure they convinced him they’ll likely be in the finals (which seems likely to me too)
@andrewc62
Well, it kinda looks like they’re forcing him – completing the trade is step 1
Completing the trade would be wise even if they planned to release Valanciunas. Getting rid of Saric salary without having to attach anything of value would already be a win.
He’s under contract, they hav right to force him, plus the guy is valuable, so they better try
Lol, the Nuggets have title aspirations. Unlike Val, those guys wouldn’t help them from getting destroyed when Jokic rests.
Good for DEN, and they owe it to the league to not back down. DEN should suspend JV for the year (without pay), and the NBA should grant DEN a 10 mm cap exemption. JV can go home and REALLY spend time with his family. Or he can do other things, other than play professional basketball.
Of course, if the NBA and FIBA-Europe want to change their agreement such that all contracts (both sides) can be voided at the instance of the player, if its only to play on the other side of Atlantic, then that can be discussed. But there can’t be one rule for NBA contracts and another for Euro contracts.
What? Why doesn’t the NBA start using Guantanimo Bay? Can do whatever he wants or thinks is best for him and his loved ones. Just like you can right?
He can do whatever he wants, go wherever he wants, live wherever he wants. The only thing he can’t do is what he agreed in a written contract not to do – play for another professional basketball team.
Is this really difficult to understand?
Teams do what they want, why cant players. The States aren’t for everyone. Do other players get banned from playing for stepping away? Nope, why attack Val? That seems a little personal. I mean a team can always talk buyout right. Pretty sure the amount the player is contracted for is never paid in full. You go stop him at the airport and tell the man he can’t leave, lols.
If the Nuggets are willing to release him from his contract then he can play wherever he wants. Why would the Nuggets make a scene? I highly doubt he expects to get paid for his NBA contract if he doesn’t play it out. In fact, he’d be giving up a considerable amount of cash to do so.
Did the Cavs suspend Rubio and create a lot of unnecessary drama? No, He bought out his contract and both parties moved on.
CLE-Rubio was the opposite situation. The typical situation where CLE – not Rubio – wanted out of the contract. Rubio wanted to go home but still get his salary, and said it was for “mental health” reasons (not to play for a Euro team). Of course he was suspended or fined until they reached a settlement and that allowed him to play for a Euro team.
Rubio took some time off for and mental health and I’m not got paid for that, bought out his contract then signed with a euro club. There was no suspension involved. He later said he needed some time off to find the cause of his chronic stress.
Teams can’t do everything they want. They have to pay players they don’t want to have on the team all the time, simply because they signed a contract agreeing to. They can’t rip up the contract, and neither can the player.
You didn’t read my post if you think I’m attacking JV or that I want to stop him at the airport (LOL). He’s way too big. If living in the US doesn’t float his boat any longer, then he has every right to go back to Europe. But since he already sold me an exclusive on his basketball playing services for next year, he can’t play for a professional basketball in Europe until the following season.
When Rubio couldn’t join MIN for two years after he was drafted because a Euro team held his contract for that time. Did that outrage you as well? Or is it OK for a European team to enforce its contracts, just not an American team?
As for “just like me” – I’ve actually spent two periods of my working life, and the first 5 years of retirement, subject to contract restrictions (on jobs I could take and people/entities I could represent). I survived. No problems at airports.
You’re attacking his freedom in a free country. That’s horses**t.
If a team is unhappy they have many options including straight cutting the player. If a player doesnt like there situation the only option they have is to become so toxic you force your way out.
Like JV signed in WAS maybe he doesnt like DEN. Or he just realized he can star and start in EU.
It is a bit unfair that teams can walk away any time they like but players can be traded to a situation they didnt sign up for and then are just stuck with it.
Because the teams are writing the checks. That’s how business goes my friend.
Keep your cheque is what Val is saying. Business, lols. I write the cheques in my life. Contracts with clients or workers aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Especially when it’s time to collect progress payments or on extras. Fancy having a go at someone’s business acumen who you don’t know.You and your commy friend clearly don’t work in any NBA front office either smart guy. You’re both wrong and part of the problem.
Signed legal contract under the covenants of a collective bargaining agreement. Not a standalone employment contract. Think… before you tell other people they’re a problem for not being as smart as you.
Yet teams constantly break said contracts under said bargaining agreement. Another smart guy, lols. These guys got a players union? If he wants to leave, he’s gone. That simple.
@Nrg82
Not if he wants to play next season in either the NBA or Europe.
You’re choosing to leave out that teams pay out those broken contracts? Or that some contracts contain non-guarantees? You’re acting as if there isn’t any burden on teams and all on the poor players in a breach.
This is why people hate lawyers like you. The arrogance and ignorance to belittle anyone who doesn’t agree with you.
@Nrg82
So signed legal contracts shouldn’t count if one of the parties wants out?
You don’t understand anything about employment contracts. They aren’t indentured servitude. They are for the benefit of the employee not the employer. He can leave anytime he likes. He would forfeit his salary of course, and he can’t play in Europe unless the Nuggets let him (which they eventually will if he insists), but that’s because of a separate contract between FIBA and NBA.
Put @ such and such. So we can understand who you’re talking to please.
@Nrg – I’m actually supporting his freedom, specifically his freedom of contract. It’s one of the building blocks of a free country. You didn’t answer my question on Rubio. I guess it was easier to accuse me of attacking him.
Your deflecting and back peddling. Real ones can read between the lines. I was right not to engage with you first time round. Won’t make that mistake again, bye.
@S2: LMAO. Really, I don’t understand anything about employment contracts? Funny, but you’re not bright enough to know how funny. Rest assured that ALL bilateral contracts are for the mutual benefit of both parties, or they wouldn’t be bilateral. Is bilateral too big a word for you? Look it up. FYI, courts routinely issue injunctions preventing an employee from working elsewhere. FIBA agreement is just saving time and legal fees.
Give it a break lol. You don’t know what he wants. Cause it hasn’t been reported. He can leave. All he has to do is walk out on his last year contract. And he hasn’t. No one is stopping him …
They are letting the trade go thru because they dont want Saric and if Jonas ends up not playing they will get the full MLE
This! If/When JV takes the buyout, they’ll dip below the apron completely (if he gives up enough money) … huge for the MLE, etc.
Actually, aren’t they already below the 1st apron with or without JV?
Worst case scenario, they end up getting Saric off their books for nothing. The Kings are idiots
But what will they do with the money, no way they can get anyone that good at that price, right?
It’s not the 50s or the 80s anymore, you can’t keep a player that doesn’t want to be there, especially one in the backend of his career that wants to leave for his continent
@demian
So maybe the speculation in this article is wrong, and this could end up with useless Saric gone, Val bought out and happy in Greece, and the Nuggets denying GSW Horford by signing him with the extra $
That is totally possible
Received an offer? Signed a contract, oh we’re keeping him. OK. Only way Denver are keeping Big Val is adding another year.
Trying to convince him to stay, sure. Forcing him to stay, ugly.
No one forced him to sign that contract.
The team he signed that contract with stabbed him in the back.
DDC – you don’t ever side with the ownership/front office. Its always an L .
How did they stab him in the back?
By trading him! Every word they said to recruit him was a lie.
@ Davey J
Nonsense. He was signed by the Kings as a backup to Sabonis in a sign and trade deal by the Pelicans.
He took the best deal available to him at the time, why would you claim he was lied to?
He actually signed with the Wizards first then was traded to the Kings
What are talking about Dude?!?!?
Why would you want a guy that doesn’t want to be there? Let him buy out his contract and move on.
@Chucktoad
That would seem to be the plan – I highly doubt that the Nuggets would try to keep Val if he doesn’t want to be there.
But 1st, you have to finish getting rid of Saric, who never should have been signed in the 1st place.
Or Val is using this as leverage to get his 2026-27 salary guaranteed.
I think you missed my point. What I’m saying is that the Nuggets are hoping to convince him to stay, which I understand. Forcing him to stay would be ugly.
No one forced him to sign the contract, but what does not letting him go if he wants to is just going to lead to locker room strife.
He also didnt have the option of choosing not to be traded to DEN…
The Kings had intel of this and that’s why they took on an underachieving player of whom the Nuggets were willing to give up because of his “great” year. As for the contract dispute, yeah exactly the Nuggets hold his rights so if he wants out of that to play abroad that’ll need to be taken care of. Simple as that. All this harsh rhetoric from above is funny and ridiculous.
Im thinking before it’s all said and done Joker calls and has a word then it’s over and hes playing 16 min a game with the 5280 on his chest
They should trade him to the blazers for Williams. Blazers would let him walk if he gave up his whole contract. The entitlement era is something else in the NBA
@Mconner
Williams is useless, because he’s always hurt.
If he doesn’t want to play in NBA then the trade will be rescinded. Why would Denver want him. Bye bye
Then it’s one year at 10 mill. With a chance at ring. He is bigger Aole than Davey J if he turns that down. Especially for 12 mill for 3 yrs. Its one year. He can leave next year , no issues.
Oh and please if he does leave —- take
“The FankenStein” with you …. PLEASE 🧌
After he signs and starts playing in Greece you think the Nuggets will still insist he’s on the team?
He’s already signed. Possibly an NBA get out. Nobody here is aware of anything in said contract. It’s add another yr. Or bye bye, I’m out. Thanks for setting up my family.
I neuer heard anything about JV being a bad teammate. There will be a solution which is ok for Denver and him or he will play.
Its a major win for Denver to get rid of Saric, even if their only return is an open slot on their roster.
Valencunas already flew out. He’s fixated on Europe.
Word is nuggets will pursue Horford now. They can offer him the full mle of 14 mil.
If that’s the case, then DEN hit the jackpot.
Burn…he’d be awesome for Denver.
> Word is nuggets will pursue Horford now.
What’s your source? I’d call BS on them.
Why would Nuggets announce today that they’re legally obligating Val to honor his contract AND simultaneously pursue Horford? Do you think Horford and his reps would be impressed?
Seems like a negotiated buyout would be best for both parties. Hopefully he can get what he wants and back to Europe.
Playing hard ball with JV doesn’t seem like a smart plan for Denver. He doesn’t want to be there and since it’s a two year deal with the second year non-guaranteed, he would be incentivized to give a minimal effort to ensure they let him go after the year. Plus there’s bad optics and potential for him to disrupt the locker room. Best to let him go, and be thankful to get out pf the Saric contract.
It’s now being reported that “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.”
link to espn.com
Valanciunas is signed to two years. One is guaranteed. Which means he can leave after one year no problema ……
The stories are he is unhappy playing for losers and not getting PT. So then why do you sign a three yr contract with biggest loser out there June 2024 Wizards. Now that you are in your last year. You are crying like Davey J cries for KD and Giannis.
And now that you go to a contender. You want to show that a Greek team wants to pay you ??????
This man wants a new contract from Nuggets. So he is using Euro ball. Fact is he can just leave and go. He’d have to work it out with Kings. And trade wouldn’t go down. So stop with feelings for him wanting to go back. No one is stopping him. All he had to was say.
I don’t want a trade. I’m going to Greece. I rescind my contract good-bye……. OK
But he is not cause its all about money like it always is. Nuggets don’t need him for 10 million dollars.
link to google.com
June 2924 3yr 3yr TO 30 mill
July 6: The Nuggets have informed Valanciunas’ representatives that they “fully intend” to have him honor his NBA contract and view him as a critical addition to their roster, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Ultimately I don’t care what JV does it just seems odd that he was cool playing with a garbage organization like the Kings but now that he gets traded to an actual contender he wants to go back home.
Well, if JV doesn’t want to play for Denver then what can Denver do about it? Sue him?
So Val’s contract with Denver for this year is $10.4 mil…..can you please clarify if the 3 year Greek deal is for 4 mil euros per year or 12 million euros per year? Thanks
4 per year.
Thank you Luke ….seems like he would be better off financially staying in the NBA.