By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following up on recent reactions to the addition of Jonas Valanciunas via a trade with the Sacramento Kings, David Adelman furthered into projections with the 33-year-old Lithuanian center in his plans for the 2025-26 campaign with the Denver Nuggets.
“We added a backup big that we think can really complement our bench, and obviously complement Nikola [Jokic],” he mentioned in an interview shared on the official YouTube portal of the franchise on Wednesday.
“I think we were trying to find pieces that fit, not just names that people knew,” he recapped the offseason moves to add depth to his roster, “We feel like all these guys do complement the group that’s been here, the group that’s accomplished so much over all these years in Denver. And I can tell you right now just from my messaging with Aaron [Gordon], Jamal [Murray], Nikola [Jokic], those guys are excited.”
Despite the ongoing interest of EuroLeague outfit, Panathinaikos Aktor, Adelman once more focused on the Utena native as a Nugget.
“You can play through him,” he analyzed Valanciunas, “I thought people forget how good DeMarcus Cousins was for us that second half of that season. Jonas is a guy you can post up against smaller lineups. He’s a proficient player down there, very good dribble handoff player, you can play him off the elbows. He’s a guy those guards can play through.”
“And when Jok doesn’t play, you have a legitimate starting center that we just happen to be lucky enough to have as our backup. So we’re super blessed to get him,” added the 44-year-old tactician, “Cannot wait for him to get to the United States, get to Denver. We’re so excited to have him.”
Before the 2025-26 campaign in the NBA or perhaps in the EuroLeague, Valanciunas is focused on representing Lithuania in the EuroBasket 2025.