In an offseason where LeBron James confirmed his extension with LA, Damian Lillard was waived from Milwaukee, and other moves were executed, there’s one move that threatens to surpass all these storylines. It’s the question that has been in everyone’s mind for weeks, something that every NBA Insider wants to get the answer to: Is Jonas Valaciunas heading to Greece? After weeks of speculations and playing hide and seek, we finally have the answer to the biggest enigma of this offseason.
For those of you who haven’t been following this saga, Jonas Valanciunas, who played for the Sacramento Kings last season shipped to Denver in exchange for Dario Saric. The deal made sense for both the Kings and the Nuggets. You could even say that it was a complete win-win for everyone involved in this trade. The Mile-High City no longer needed the services of Dario Saric because, to put it bluntly, he’s just not good enough. On the other hand, the Kings did not want to pay $10 million, which they would’ve owed Valanciunas next season.
Makes sense, right? It does, but there was a huge problem. That’s because, as soon as the trade went through, or so everyone supposed, news started to come through that Jonas Valanciunas is heading to Greece to play for Panathinaikos. While it seemed like this was Denver’s plan all along, getting $10 million cap space, we kid you not, it wasn’t. They wanted him to stay and play for the Nuggets as a backup for Nikola Jokic. In fact, that’s the reason why they bought him in the first place.
However, it seemed like the big man no longer wished to play in the NBA. That was until today, when he finally broke his silence and shut down the rumors of him heading to Greece. “I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me. The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship.” Valanciunas said.
Jonas Valanciunas spoke with me to clear the air on the Nuggets and Panathinaikos situation:
“I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me. The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very…
— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) July 21, 2025
The Lithuanian center finally cleared the air around his future with the Denver Nuggets, as he stated that although the offer from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos was tempting, he’s going to honor his contract with the NBA franchise. This is massive news for the Nuggets, as for the first time, they’ll have a proper backup for Nikola Jokic, someone who can clock in 10-15 minutes every night and give the Joker much-needed time to rest.
This is a developing story…
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