Jonas Valanciunas Says He’s ‘Fully Committed To Honoring’ His Contract With Nuggets

After a whole month of speculation surrounding Jonas Valanciunas‘ future, he’s finally decided to put the rumours to rest. The player himself has decided to honor his contract and play this next season in Denver, even though he was close to signing a deal with Greek team Panathinaikos. 

Earlier this month, the Nuggets acquired the Lithuanian center from Sacramento, despite so many reports suggesting that the Euroleague franchise was attempting to lure the six-foot-eleven big man back to Europe. However, the athlete still had one year left on his contract, worth almost $10 million.

“I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me,” Jonas said on Monday. “The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait.”

The veteran star then said blatantly that he has made up his mind, and expects to give his best for the Colorado club: “I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship.”

That has been the first time that Valanciunas has made an official statement on the matter, ever since the Panathinaikos’ speculation first started to emerge. However, three days ago Denver’s executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer said there were “no concerns” about him.

“There’s been nothing but healthy conversations in terms of him honoring his contract and him excited to be a Nugget,” the executive guaranteed during a press conference last week. Jonas is now set to play for Lithuania at FIBA EuroBasket this summer.

This move is general manager Jonathan Wallace’s icing on the cake, as he’s been remodelling the squad for the upcoming campaign. “Their plan is for him to get here sooner than later, but still working through that,” the GM explained. “We’ll approach it at that time.”