The Jonas Valanciunas situation regarding him playing with the Nuggets in the 2025-26 season just got another wrinkle.
No, Panathinaikos fans, Nuggets Nation isn’t trying to start a war with you all. The fans have been dying for a competent backup center behind Nikola Jokic for the better part of a decade, and when they thought they finally got their answer in a trade that is better described as a heist, this contract debacle came about with Valanciunas reportedly wanting to go overseas to play in Greece next year.
Nuggets fans are just frustrated that the answer they could’ve had might have slipped right through their fingertips.
Reports on Monday revealed a new twist in the situation, saying that Valanciunas’ agent could possibly be the one at fault for this situation. According to a report published in Greek media outlet “Sports DNA,” Panathinaikos “had the guarantee from the Lithuanian player’s agent—who is not actively involved in the player’s NBA team negotiations—that Denver would definitely release him.”
In turn, Josh Kroenke and the rest of the Nuggets brass weren’t happy when they heard the Valanciunas’ agent “guaranteed” his release from the Nuggets without even talking to the front office about it. They believed that they had just found their answer for the woeful non-Jokic minutes, and were instead met with a messy situation all because a guy who Valanciunas likely pays a lot of money to didn’t bother to communicate anything with the NBA team that holds onto his client’s contract.
At the end of the day, the contract that Valanciunas signed back in 2024 legally binds him to whatever NBA team holds onto that contract through the end of the 2026-27 season. Unless the Lithuanian big man and the Nuggets agree on a buyout, which seems unlikely after the latest update from Denver’s side of things, and then receives a letter of clearance from FIBA to move from the NBA over to Europe, he’s going to be tied to the Nuggets.
The report did not specify which agent made this blunder. According to RealGM, the 7-footer is represented by Michael Tellem and Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management. Tellem’s client list is primarily made up of European candidates, while Schwartz represents both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
The trade is not finalized, as the Michael Porter Jr. trade has to go through first in order to make this deal possible financially. While not officially complete, it appears that the Kings and Nuggets plan to carry things on like they agreed upon, despite the recent complications.
