Jonas Valanciunas 'Fully Committed' to Honoring Nuggets Contract Amid Europe Rumors
After rumors surrounding his future swirled, Jonas Valančiūnas has let it be known that he intends to remain in the NBA.
Valanciunas told Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews that he fully intends to honor his contract after being traded to the Denver Nuggets this offseason:
"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."
Nuggets executive vice president Ben Tenzer previously let it be known (h/t DNVR Nuggets' Brendan Vogt) that he had "no concerns" about Valančiūnas reporting to the team.
The big man previously expressed interest in playing overseas for Greek club Panathinaikos following his trade from Sacramento.
"Nothing but healthy conversations about him honoring his contract and him excited to be a Denver Nugget" Tenzer said, per Vogt, adding that there are no concerns about Valančiūnas suiting up for Denver at the start of the season.
The 33-year-old was acquired by the Nuggets from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Dario Šarić. Although Valančiūnas has two years remaining on his contract, he reportedly considered a move closer to home — a decision that would have required a buyout.
According to CBS Sports' Cody Nagel, Denver informed the veteran center they would not let him out of his contract, which includes two years of team control at a $20 million price tag. This came as Panathinaikos was reportedly prepared to offer Valančiūnas a three-year, $36 million deal.
"I don't want to speak on all the specifics out there, but from our perspective, we had no issues from our end," Tenzer said, per Nagel. "He's under contract in the NBA. We had indications that he was going to honor that contract. We were never worried about anything going on out there to be honest."
Entering his 14th NBA season, Valančiūnas averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last year. He joins a Denver squad looking to bolster its frontcourt depth behind MVP Nikola Jokić and chase its second NBA championship in four seasons.
