Nuggets Veteran Is Quietly Being Phased Out of the Lineup

The Denver Nuggets had one of the most impactful 2025 offseasons of any team in the NBA, headlined by key additions of Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas. For the most part, they are living up to the preseason hype. However, there is one outlier.

The Nuggets acquired Valanciunas in a trade with the Sacramento Kings last summer, and while the 33-year-old center was expected to be a valuable backup for three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, he has fallen short of expectations. In fact, he has fallen out of the rotation altogether recently.

Is Jonas Valanciunas being phased out of the lineup?

Mar 17, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas (17) has blood wiped from his chest during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Ball Arena. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

In each of the Nuggets' last two games, Valanciunas has logged a DNP-CD (coach's decision), completely falling out of the rotation. Instead, head coach David Adelman has experimented with small-ball lineups whenever Jokic is on the bench, with either Aaron Gordon or Spencer Jones filling in at the center position.

Even before logging zero minutes in their last two games, Valanciunas was quietly being phased out of the lineup. In his seven games prior to the consecutive DNP-CDs, Valanciunas played over six minutes just twice, including one two-minute outing and another three-minute outing.

Granted, Valanciunas has come up big for the Nuggets on multiple occasions this season, but for the most part, they have fared well without him in the lineup.

Valanciunas has logged 731 minutes this season without Jokic on the court with him. In that span, the Nuggets' net rating is a mere -6.1. In 818 minutes without either center on the court, they are +0.6. A 6.7-point difference per 100 possessions is pretty substantial, and could be enough to show the Nuggets they are more effective without Valanciunas on the court.

What this could mean for Valanciunas' future in Denver

It is worth looking back at the 2025 offseason, when there was plenty of noise about Valanciunas potentially leaving the NBA entirely to play in Europe after he was traded to the Nuggets. Of course, that did not happen, but we should keep that scenario in mind.

Jonas Valanciunas is close to leaving the NBA for Panathinaikos despite recently signing with Denver Nuggets, reports @Urbodo 😱🇬🇷

Contract details: https://t.co/QDMP4KDNzM pic.twitter.com/WZLdIAnHjV
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) July 3, 2025

Valanciunas is under contract for the 2026-27 season, but his entire $10 million salary is non-guaranteed. The Nuggets could end up cutting the veteran center this offseason with no penalty, and based on his recent impact, it is easy to assume that is a legitimate possibility.

In fact, with the financial situation the Nuggets are in, especially with Peyton Watson set to get paid this offseason, waiving Valanciunas could be their best option.

With just ten games left in the regular season, it will be interesting to see how David Adelman approaches Valanciunas' situation. Whether he plays or not will likely continue to be matchup-based, but there is a chance that the veteran center is a complete non-factor in a seven-game playoff series. At the same time, he could get an opportunity and make a legitimate difference.

Having Valanciunas available to play could prove valuable for the Nuggets, but he has seemingly turned into an option they do not want to rely on.