In an offseason where LeBron James confirmed his extension with LA, Damian Lillard was waived from Milwaukee, and other moves were executed from deals, many would feel there won’t be much drama on the cards anymore. But there’s one move that threatens to surpass all these storylines. It’s the question that has been in everyone’s mind for weeks, something that every NBA Insider wants to get the answer to: Is Jonas Valanciunas heading to Greece? After weeks of speculations and playing hide and seek, we finally have the answer to the biggest enigma of this offseason.

For those of you who haven’t been following this saga, Jonas Valanciunas, who played for the Sacramento Kings last season, was shipped to Denver in exchange for Dario Saric. The deal made sense for both the Kings and the Nuggets. You could even say that it was a complete win-win for everyone involved in this trade because, for the Mile-High City, no longer needed the services of Dario Saric because, to put it bluntly, he’s just not good enough. On the other hand, the Kings did not want to pay $10 million, which they would’ve owed Valanciunas next season. Makes sense, right? It does, but there was a huge problem.

That’s because, as soon as the trade went through, or so everyone supposed, news started to come through that Jonas Valanciunas is heading to Greece to play for Panathinaikos. While it seemed like this was Denver’s plan all along, getting $10 million cap space, we kid you not, it wasn’t. They wanted him to stay and play for the Nuggets as a backup for Nikola Jokic. In fact, that’s the reason why they bought him in the first place.

However, it seemed like the big man no longer wished to play in the NBA. That was until today, when he finally broke his silence and shut down the rumors of him heading to Greece. “I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me. The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. 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.

The Lithuanian center finally cleared the air around his future with the Denver Nuggets, as he stated that although the offer from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos was tempting, with him being able to be closer than ever before to his family, he’s going to honor his contract with the NBA franchise. This is massive news for the Nuggets, but why? After all, Jonas Valanciunas is an aging player who’s not what he once was. So, what’s the reason behind the Nuggets valuing him so much?

What does Jonas Valanciunas’ arrival in Denver mean for the franchise?

If Jonas Valanciunas left the Sacramento Kings for any other team in the NBA, except for the Denver Nuggets, we wouldn’t be having his conversation right now. As well all know, the Mile-High City possesses the best big man in the league right now in Nikola Jokic. For years, the Joker has played without any real help or support behind him. Although the Nuggets did have a couple of big men on their roster last season, including Dario Saric and DeAndre Jordan, none of them were as good as Jonas Valanciunas.

Now, with the 33-year-old center confirming his plans, Denver finally has someone who can extend support to their franchise player. The Lithuanian is capable of setting screens, grabbing rebounds, playing out pick-and-roll, and putting the ball in the basket. This is something that if he does, for more or less 10-15 minutes night and night out, then we can say that the league is going to have a huge problem next season. That’s because this will give Nikola Jokic enough time to take a breather and play with full intensity.

So, that’s why Jonas Valanciunas is a really important addition to the Nuggets, who are already stacking up players to go all out next season. And if all goes well for Denver in the upcoming season, David Adelman and his crew will have an option to extend the big man’s stay for another year by paying him another $10 million for the 2026-27 season. However, that’s one for the future, as the Nuggets hope that Valanciunas is the right man for the job for next season.