Report: Nuggets backup big Jonas Valanciunas is likely gone to Lithuania

The Denver Nuggets went through a saga with backup big man Jonas Valanciunas last summer.

It sounds like another could be coming this time around.

According to “BasketNews,” Valanciunas is likely to sign with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania for a two year-deal. The only problem is the Nuggets still have a $10 million team option on his contract for the 2026-27 campaign.

Denver acquired Valanciunas in the offseason in 2025, but he flirted heavily with Panathinaikos, a basketball team in Greece. Ultimately, he joined the Nuggets and said all the right things about backing up Nikola Jokic.

It seemed like head coach David Adelman had problems trusting Jonas Valanciunas for long stretches, and the notion he’d be the best backup center in the Jokic era never came to fruition. He averaged 8.7 points per game and 5.1 rebounds, appearing in 65 games. He averaged a little more than 13 minutes per contest.

The Nuggets desperately need salary cap space to attempt to stay under the second apron and pay Peyton Watson. Reports say they could try to move Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson or Zeke Nnaji, getting off $10 million from Valanciunas could help with that cause.

Denver executives Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace have until July 8 to make a decision. If Jonas Valanciunas get his way, he’ll be allowed out of the contract and head to Lithuania.

We’ll see if the Nuggets are comfortable with that, but it’s now a big story to watch in an offseason that could get very interesting very quickly.

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