By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
According to veteran NBA journalist Marc Stein, the Nuggets will proceed with the trade for Jonas Valanciunas and remain determined to keep the veteran big man, despite the Lithuanian center’s travel to Athens amid advanced talks with Panathinaikos.
Valanciunas has an offer on the table from the Greek EuroLeague powerhouse, but Denver must waive him first for the transfer to Panathinaikos to happen.
This means that Denver still has leverage in the talks and can decide the fate of the player, who is strongly considering a move to Greece.
That can be the key in the talks with Denver for a possible buyout, which will save even more salary cap room for the Nuggets.
While this is a very important incentive for Denver to let Valanciunas walk, on the other hand, there are no better available options than him in the free agency for the Nuggets to sign as a backup to Nikola Jokic.
A similar story happened last summer with Sasha Vezenkov forfeiting his NBA contract and returning to the other Greek powerhouse, Olympiacos.