The Denver Nuggets appear ready for a stand-off.
After acquiring Jonas Valanciunas in a trade last Tuesday, the Western Conference powerhouse reportedly has no interest in letting the centre walk away from the NBA to pursue overseas endeavours.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Denver has informed Valanciunas' reps that the franchise intends to have him honour his contract despite Greek team Panathinaikos pursuing the veteran big man in recent days.
The news comes after Valanciunas was spotted in Greece, reportedly meeting with Panathinaikos officials in hopes of a move. However, he cannot sign with the European club unless he's released from his NBA contract, which the Nuggets do not intend to do.
Sasha Vezenkov was in a similar situation last year after he was acquired by the Toronto Raptors, but the team ultimately acquiesced and released the forward so he could sign with Olympiacos.
Denver acquired the 33-year-old Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Dario Saric.
Splitting time between Sacramento and the Washington Wizards last season, Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and two assists while shooting 55.0 per cent from the field over a career-low 18.8 minutes a night
It was the first time in his 13-year NBA career that the former fifth-overall pick primarily came off the bench, starting only 21 of his 81 appearances.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets ranked bottom-five in the regular season and playoffs for bench scoring and spent much of the off-season looking to address that issue. First, Denver traded Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Cameron Johnson to free up cap space, which it used to sign vets like Bruce Brown Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr., along with acquiring Valanciunas.
The Lithuanian big man projects to be a key rotation player for the Nuggets as he'll slot behind three-time MVP Nikola Jokic as the backup centre, a role of weakness for Denver in years past.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Nuggets anticipate Valanciunas playing for them this upcoming season and remain "optimistic."
