Whereas there’s nonetheless no decision on his NBA contract scenario, Jonas Valanciunas seems to be shifting ahead along with his reported plan to signal with the EuroLeague membership Panathinaikos. In line with Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops, Valanciunas arrived in Athens on Friday with the intent of present process a bodily and finalizing the phrases of a profitable three-year deal.
Nonetheless, Valanciunas stays underneath contract within the NBA and might be traded from Sacramento to Denver as soon as the July moratorium ends. Stories have indicated that the Nuggets have lengthy had curiosity in Valanciunas and envisioned a significant position for him on their 2025/26 roster, so that they’re hoping to persuade him to honor his NBA contract.
Nonetheless, with all indicators pointing to Valanciunas wanting a return to Europe, it actually appears as if he and his new NBA workforce are headed for buyout discussions. In that situation, the Nuggets would probably require him to surrender most – if not all – of the $10.4MM assured wage he’s owed subsequent season. That may give Denver some spending flexibility to return to free company or the commerce market searching for a brand new backup heart for Nikola Jokic.
Now we have extra from all over the world of worldwide hoops:
- Three-time NBA All-Defensive first-teamer Serge Ibaka is leaving Actual Madrid, the Spanish workforce introduced on Wednesday. The 35-year-old huge man averaged 6.5 factors and three.3 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per night time throughout EuroLeague play for the eventual Liga ACB champions. This was Ibaka’s first yr with Actual Madrid after taking part in the earlier season with Bayern Munich. It has now been greater than two years since he was final on an NBA roster.
- Vegeran wing Jordan Nwora is leaving Anadolu Efes, the Turkish membership introduced (by way of Twitter). Nwora, who performed 4 seasons within the NBA, primarily with the Bucks and Pacers, has agreed to a cope with Crvena Zvezda out of Belgrade, Serbia, per a Eurohoops report (by way of Twitter).
- Free agent guard Raul Neto has signed with San Pablo Burgos for the upcoming season, the workforce introduced. The 33-year-old Neto, who appeared in 435 common season NBA video games from 2015-23, performed restricted minutes in 2024/25 with Barcelona. San Pablo Burgos competes in Spain’s Primera FEB, which is the nation’s second division league.
- Sergio Scariolo has agreed to return to Actual Madrid as their head coach, in keeping with Eurohoops.web. The Italian coach, who gained an NBA title as an assistant for the 2018/19 Raptors, has spent most of his profession within the EuroLeague. He had a earlier tenure with Actual Madrid from 1999-2002, and has been teaching Virtus Bologna for the previous three seasons. Scariolo, who has 4 EuroBasket championships and a pair of Olympic medals to his identify, has agreed to a three-year cope with Actual Madrid and can formally be a part of the membership after teaching the Spanish nationwide workforce one final time at this yr’s EuroBasket match.
