Jonas Valanciunas is headed back to Europe.
Zalgiris Kaunas announced in a press release that it has signed the veteran center to a two-year contract, ending the back-and-forth that surrounded his future over the past few days. The deal had been widely rumored even before the Nuggets waived him last week, but Monday brought conflicting reports about whether everything was truly finalized.
Valanciunas, according to those reports, was still weighing his NBA options before making a formal commitment to the EuroLeague club. Two days later, the answer is in.
The move comes after Valanciunas, 34, had already tried to make the jump to Europe a year ago. Panathinaikos pursued him in Greece, and he traveled to Athens last July expecting to accept a three-year offer. That signing never happened because Denver would not negotiate a buyout of his NBA contract.
Valanciunas spent last season in Denver after being acquired from Sacramento in exchange for Dario Saric. He served as Nikola Jokic’s top backup and appeared in 65 games, starting six, while averaging 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 13.4 minutes per game.
He shot 58.2% from the field. His role shrank in the first round of the playoffs against Minnesota, where he logged just 25 total minutes across four games.
Denver’s decision to cut him was financial. The Nuggets, working under a tight cap, moved on from Valanciunas to avoid paying his full $10MM salary for 2026/27, with only $2MM guaranteed. He reportedly had some NBA interest, but the pull toward Europe always seemed stronger, especially for a player who was a star there before coming to the United States in 2012.
Zalgiris is getting a seasoned big man with a long NBA résumé and plenty of familiarity with the European game. The roster already includes several players with NBA connections, among them Carsen Edwards, Saben Lee, Nigel Williams-Goss and Sterling Brown.
Valanciunas was the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft and has now played 14 NBA seasons with Toronto, Memphis, New Orleans, Washington, Sacramento and Denver. He earned second-team All-Rookie honors in 2013, has appeared in 1,002 regular-season games with 854 starts, and carries career averages of 12.8 points and 9.0 rebounds.
According to , Valanciunas is expected to make around €5 million, or approximately $5.5MM, over the two years with Zalgiris. A two-year minimum-salary NBA deal would have paid him close to $8MM, though that figure is before taxes, while European salaries are generally reported after tax.
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