{"id":36360,"date":"2025-07-03T21:48:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T21:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/36360\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T21:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T21:48:09","slug":"jonas-valanciunas-reportedly-considering-leaving-nba-for-euroleague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/36360\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonas Valanciunas Reportedly Considering Leaving NBA For EuroLeague"},"content":{"rendered":"

4:40 pm:<\/strong> The trade between Denver and Sacramento is expected to proceed as planned, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link<\/a>), who says discussions between Valanciunas and the Nuggets about his future remain \u201cfluid\u201d in the wake of the lucrative offer he received from Panathinaikos.<\/p>\n

\"\"3:43 pm:<\/strong> Veteran center Jonas Valanciunas<\/a><\/strong> is close to accepting a three-year contract offer worth 12 million Euros from the Greek team Panathinaikos, according to a report from Donatas Urbonas and Karolis Tiskevicius of BasketNews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

League sources confirm to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link<\/a>) that a possible return to Europe holds \u201cstrong appeal\u201d to Valanciunas.<\/p>\n

Valanciunas, who has been in the NBA since 2012, remains under contract for two more seasons, with a $10.4MM guaranteed salary for 2025\/26 and a $10MM non-guaranteed salary for \u201926\/27. In other words, he can\u2019t freely sign with Panathinaikos without extricating himself from that deal.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also in the process of changing NBA teams. The Kings<\/strong> and Nuggets<\/strong> agreed to a trade<\/a> on Tuesday that would sent the Lithuanian big man to Denver in exchange for Dario Saric<\/a><\/strong>, but it can\u2019t be finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on Sunday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if Valanciunas\u2019 rumored move to Athens would scuttle that deal, or if the two teams would still go through with the trade and Valanciunas would subsequently look to complete a buyout with the Nuggets. I\u2019d bet on the latter.<\/p>\n

Former EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov<\/a><\/strong> was in a similar situation last offseason \u2014 as rumors about his possible return to Europe swirled, he was traded<\/a> from Sacramento to Toronto, where he eventually agreed to a buyout<\/a> with the Raptors that saw him give up all of his remaining guaranteed salary ($6.7MM) so that he could sign with Olympiacos in Greece.<\/p>\n

If the Valanciunas situation plays out in a similar fashion, the Nuggets could end up creating some cap savings as a result of a buyout, but they\u2019d be losing a player they\u2019d identified as a reliable backup for superstar Nikola Jokic<\/a><\/strong> and would have to return to the trade market and\/or free agency to find someone else to fill that slot.<\/p>\n

Valanciunas, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has nearly averaged a double-double across 937 regular season games, with 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In 81 outings for Washington and Sacramento last season, he put up 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 18.8 minutes per night.<\/p>\n

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