After a strong offseason, the Denver Nuggets’ summer moves were jeopardized by an odd offseason development. After trading for Jonas Valanciunas, it appeared that he would leave the Nuggets to play in Greece, leaving them high and dry. Fortunately for the Nuggets, Valanciunas recently put those rumors to bed.
“I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship,” Valanciunas said to BasketNews.
The Nuggets’ ability to put the Valanciunas drama behind them has removed a cloud of doubt surrounding their roster. They made several strong moves this summer to transform their roster, and, ironically, Valanciunas was key to that. With him under contract for next season, and a team option for the 2026-27 season, he could be in Denver for the next two years, giving them stability at backup center.
Jonas Valanciunas is key to the Nuggets’ offseason
The Nuggets revamped their team by adding Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Valanciunas. That should dramatically improve Denver’s ceiling, with Johnson having untapped potential that Nikola Jokic could unlock, not to mention their much-improved depth.
In recent years, the Nuggets have shied away from adding veterans who could take minutes away from their young players. That’s obviously changed with them bringing in four vets, including Valanciunas, to solve their depth issue.
They should now be able to go 10 deep, something Nuggets fans could only dream of last season when the team ran out of gas against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West semi-finals.
The Nuggets suddenly look like title contenders again
Having that suddenly fixes the Nuggets’ biggest flaw. Valanciunas helps to give Jokic an actual backup, which will give him much-needed rest without Denver imploding without him.
It’s a simple fix, but one that was desperately needed and wouldn’t have been solvable had they not traded Michael Porter Jr. It cost them an unprotected first, but you can’t argue with the result. Denver traded Porter Jr. and replaced him with Johnson, Brown, Hardaway Jr., and Valancinus, all of whom combine to make less than Porter Jr.
Not just that, but the Nuggets still have the mid-level exception at their disposal. And while they risk going into the luxury tax, if a good player becomes available on the buyout market, they would be primed to land an impact player to put them over the top.
With Valanciunas confirming that he’ll play for the Nuggets next season, their offseason roster moves appear complete. With clear improvements, they should reemerge as a contender next season.
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July 27, 2025 | 3:04 pm
