Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
After the NBA executives around the league lauded the Denver Nuggets for their acquisition of Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Dario Saric, league sources confirmed to HoopsHype that Panathinaikos offered Valanciunas a three-year deal on Thursday, as BasketNews first reported.
While the offer has gotten a lot of publicity, there are several factors to consider regarding the situation.
First: The Nuggets provide Valanciunas with the best chance at competing for an NBA championship than any team he’s ever played for.
Second: Denver has also tried to land Valanciunas for the past couple of seasons, HoopsHype has learned.
Third: Heading into the upcoming season, Valanciunas is expected to have a big role in the team’s rotation, which would allow the Nuggets to rest Nikola Jokic more during the season.
Fourth: If Valanciunas wants to leave the Nuggets and head overseas in a buyout scenario, he needs Denver’s cooperation to do so while under contract for $10.40 million this season.
Meanwhile, Valanciunas is expected to address the situation soon, HoopsHype has learned.
Regardless of what the future holds for Valanciunas, the trade is expected to go through and become official on Sunday.
The Kings need to get off his money for salary cap flexibility.
The Nuggets would unload Dario Saric’s $5.43 million salary off the books for the Nuggets, which is something they’ve tried to do dating back to before the trade deadline last season, league sources said.
However, without Valanciunas, Denver would need to search for another backup center.