LAS VEGAS — As the Jonas Valanciunas saga nears its potentially anticlimactic end, Nuggets coach David Adelman is envisioning how he wants to use his new backup big man.
In an appearance on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast, Adelman shared his belief that Valanciunas can operate as a point center for Denver next season, replicating some of Nikola Jokic’s role as a hub for the offense.
The Nuggets expect Valanciunas to honor his NBA contract and play for them next season, league sources have told The Denver Post, despite his strong interest in an offer from the Greek EuroLeague club Panathinaikos that coincided with Denver trading for him. Valanciunas told reporters in his native Lithuania this week that he plans to travel to Denver this summer once the trade is made official.
When they agreed to that trade with Sacramento on July 1, the Nuggets were unaware of the situation brewing in Europe, which jeopardized their backup center arrangement several days after the NBA’s window to negotiate with free agents opened.
But with Dario Saric’s $5.4 million salary being sent out in the trade, Denver had incentive to go through with it even if the Valanciunas acquisition ended up falling apart. That scenario would’ve likely involved him forfeiting his entire $10.4 million salary for next season, an outcome that would have saved the Nuggets some cap space.
But at this stage, all signs point to Valanciunas being in Denver when the 2025-26 NBA season begins. Especially now that Adelman has outlined a role for him.
“Point center. You can play combo guards. You don’t need a lead point guard (in lineups with him),” Adelman said. “You can play five-out offense, play off the elbow, post him up. He’s such a skilled player. … He shoots the ball better than most people realize. So that’s how I envision him. I think you have multiple combination guards. You can get away with that with a guy like that.”
The Nuggets have indeed positioned themselves this offseason with more secondary ball-handlers who aren’t traditional point guards or who double in other roles. Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. both meet that description, in addition to incumbent shooting guards Julian Strawther and Christian Braun.
Valanciunas obviously is not known for having a tight handle at 6-foot-11, but if the Nuggets run dribble handoffs through him on the perimeter or various actions playing off of him at the elbow, they’ll automatically limit the amount of dribbling on those possessions.
As for the Lithuanian big man’s jump shot? It’s a weapon he’s happy to deploy, but Denver shouldn’t want to rely on it too much outside of the midrange. In the last two seasons, Valanciunas is 28.7% from the 3-point line.
Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos seemed to accept defeat Friday in a series of comments made on Instagram, according to a report by Eurohoops: “We want to sign him. He wants to come to us. But if his team doesn’t say yes, what can we do? There are some things that aren’t in our hand.”
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