Denver Nuggets acquire Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Denver Nuggets are altering their supporting cast for the 2025-26 National Basketball Association season. We reported about the Nuggets’s acquisition of Cameron Johnson in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Denver has since made a trade with the Sacramento Kings, and made a key free agency signing on Tuesday.

The Nuggets acquired center Jonas Valanciunas of Utena, Lithuania from the Sacramento Kings for center Dario Saric of Sibenik, Croatia according to nba.com. What was intriguing about this particular transaction is the fact there were no draft picks involved. It was a direct one-for-one deal. The Nuggets also signed shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. of Orinda, California on Tuesday according to Rogers Sportsnet.

Valanciunas is joining his sixth NBA franchise. He was previously with the Toronto Raptors from 2012 to 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies from 2019 to 2021, the New Orleans Pelicans from 2021 to 2024, and then shared his time last season with the Washington Wizards and Kings. In 2024-25 with the Wizards and Kings, Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, and two assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .550, three point percentage of .216, and a free throw percentage of .879.

Hardaway Jr. signed a one-year deal worth $3.6 million. He was previously with the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons. This past season, Hardaway Jr. averaged 11 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, and 1.6 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .406, free throw percentage of .855 and a three point percentage of .368.

The Kings are Saric’s seventh NBA team. He was previously with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Nuggets. Last year in Denver, he averaged 3.5 points per game.

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