The controversy surrounding Jonas Valanciunas and the Denver Nuggets is clarified

In statements to journalists during a press conference held on Friday, the general manager of the Nuggets, Ben Tenzer, stated that the team "is not concerned" about the possibility of newly acquired center Jonas Valanciunas not showing up for training camp this fall, as reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

"We've had very positive discussions with him," Tenzer said. "There have only been healthy conversations regarding his contract fulfillment and his enthusiasm to be part of the Nuggets."

Two days after the Nuggets reached an agreement with the Kings at the start of free agency to acquire Valanciunas in exchange for Dario Saric, the future of the Lithuanian center became a hot topic as it emerged that he was about to accept a three-year contract offer from the Greek team Panathinaikos.

There are precedents of European-born players who gave up all their guaranteed NBA salary to secure their release and FIBA authorization to play for a non-NBA team: Sasha Vezenkov did so last year. However, the Nuggets were never willing to let Valanciunas rescind his contract, even if he was willing to forgo his full $10.4 million salary, as they had been following him for a long time and considered him the perfect backup for star center Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets hold the decision-making power

While rumors about Panathinaikos were circulating, reports indicated that the Nuggets had informed Valanciunas' camp that they expected him to honor his contract, and the trade was officially completed last Sunday. Since then, coach David Adelman has discussed how he plans to utilize Valanciunas, and now Tenzer has publicly confirmed that there are no plans to terminate his contract.

Valanciunas has not publicly stated his intention to join the Nuggets and play the 2025/26 season in the NBA, so he may still try to exert pressure in that regard. But, for now, all signs point to him being in Denver this fall.

Valanciunas' contract includes a non-guaranteed salary of $10 million for the 2026/27 season, in addition to his guaranteed $10.4 million salary for the upcoming season.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Se aclara la polémica que rodea a Jonas Valanciunas y los Denver Nuggets