LAS VEGAS — All four of the Nuggets’ offseason transactions have been finalized by the league office after Sunday’s announcement of a trade with Sacramento that turned out to be unexpectedly controversial.
Jonas Valanciunas is officially a Nugget, and Dario Saric is officially a King, despite a seemingly ill-fated attempt to intervene by the Greek club Panathinaikos. When the Nuggets agreed to the trade, league sources have said they were unaware that Valanciunas was mulling a three-year contract from the EuroLeague powerhouse, an offer that would require him to be released from his NBA contract with cooperation from Denver.
One problem: Denver had already been celebrating the Valanciunas acquisition internally. The 33-year-old Lithuanian big man is an ideal fit to anchor the second unit and shoulder a heavier load than Nikola Jokic’s previous backup centers. The team has made it clear that Valanciunas is expected to honor his contract, while also understanding that efforts must be made to help him feel comfortable and content with the idea of spending at least a year in Denver.
He’s owed $10.4 million for the upcoming 2025-26 season, and he has a non-guaranteed salary of $10 million for 2026-27, the last year of his NBA contract.
In league circles, Valanciunas is widely respected for his professionalism. How he navigates this situation publicly will be telling, as uncertainty lingers regarding how he’ll feel as the NBA season draws closer. During a series of otherwise cryptic comments in Lithuania last week, he said he was planning to travel to Denver and meet with the team at some point. However, the timing of that trip is unclear because he also reported to his national team’s training camp this week ahead of the EuroBasket tournament.
“When I am sure, I’ll definitely let you know,” he said on Monday about his future, according to BasketNews.
Considering Denver’s stance, other major developments seem unlikely until Valanciunas himself is willing to speak more directly.
And so it’s business as usual from the Nuggets’ perspective. They’re operating under the expectation that Valanciunas will be on the court for them in October, when the season begins. He was just one piece of their sprawling offseason puzzle, a series of moves that added depth and flexibility to David Adelman’s rotation, plus a handful of new assistant coaches.
Adelman spoke briefly with The Denver Post on Sunday at the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, offering insight on Valanciunas and the second unit.
The Valanciunas ‘point center’ concept
Adelman shared on an ESPN broadcast last week that he envisions Valanciunas as a “point center” in Denver — an odd label at surface level considering his career average of 1.4 assists per game. The first-year Nuggets coach provided some clarification on what that means to him Sunday.
“He’s a bona fide, big-time center over the last decade who you can put in a bunch of different spots all over the floor,” Adelman told The Post. “And when I say ‘point center,’ I mean someone you can play through in the half-court. I don’t envision him getting a rebound and pushing the ball up. I do think some of the things we already do (work with him): playing five-out with back-side dribble handoffs, playing off the elbows, posting him up against smaller lineups, his ability to make others better.
“It’s not the assist numbers that matter to me. It’s his ability to start ball movement through the impact of who he is. So he’s an enormous get. I’m super excited about getting him here, getting him acclimated.”
Second unit ‘open competition’
When asked if he’s thought up any lineups to put around Valanciunas yet, Adelman said “I think it’s way too early,” stressing that bench minutes are up for grabs.
“Those guys have to compete for spots. That’s new guys included. They all know that,” he said. “We’re very excited about some of the things those guys have done through their careers. We expect them to come to compete like they’ve done, and there’s a reason they’ve all played in rotations across the league. But this is going to be an open competition. I hope our young guys understand that. … And all those guys will complement Jonas. It’s gonna be the guys who earn these spots that get to play with him.”
The Nuggets have signed Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. to veteran minimum contracts to bolster a mostly young bench.
“I think it just gets you through the season to have more depth. I think the young guys that end up getting on the court, you hope there’s a combination of youth and the experience that we’ve gained,” Adelman said. “But again, all that’s earned. And this is only July. Right now, guys should be working to earn those spots, earn those minutes. And then I think the combinations take care of themselves. That’s how you find out what flows well together, what guys will flow well with some of our starters who’ll come back in to play with the second unit. You really would like to have a long rotation to start the season and then let things play out as they will.”
Other notes from Adelman
On whether the Nuggets have a minutes benchmark they want to keep Nikola Jokic under after he was fourth in minutes per game last season: “We know that one of the most important things we have to do next season is take care of him, and make sure that he is the best version of himself if we’re lucky enough to get to that playoff spot. So yeah, it’s a concern. But it needs to be talked about. It needs to be done the right way. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
On differences between Cam Johnson and Michael Porter Jr.: “Both guys in that trade are extremely unique players. … They both shoot the ball really well. I see Cam as a guy that can be in more off-ball actions, which will help us. It alleviates some pressure on the ball-handling. But we’ve always, to have Aaron (Gordon) and Jamal (Murray) and Nikola bring the ball up, and to have a guy like Cam that can go play two-man game will just add in another element, another level to that offense. … Beyond the basketball thing, Michael was a great teammate, and now just talking to Cam last night, great personality. He’s gonna fit in the locker room really well.”
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