Jokic personally recruits Valanciunas, Nuggets may welcome inside players to return to the NBA

On July 11, 2025, according to the Serbian media Novosti, the NBA Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic personally took the initiative and called free agent Jonas Valanciunas to persuade him to give up his plan to play in Europe, return to the NBA in the new season, and join the Nuggets.

Jokic personally took action and invited Valan to join the Nuggets

It is reported that when Jokic learned that the Nuggets management was contacting Valanciunas, he personally called the other party and expressed great sincerity. It is understood that Valan was originally intended to return to the European League and considered joining a Lithuanian or Spanish team, but Jokic's sudden call surprised him.

"I didn't expect that the teacher would call me in person, which moved me." Valanciunas said in an interview with Serbian media.

Obviously, Jokic hopes to further strengthen the Nuggets' depth in the inside rotation by recruiting this experienced and tough inside player, especially to reduce some of the pressure on defense and rebounds for himself.

Valan's willingness to continue playing in the NBA has increased, and the Nuggets have become a popular next player

Valanciunas, 33 years old, has just ended his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans and has become a complete free agent. Although there have been rumors that he tends to return to Europe to play, with Jokic's sincerity persuasion and the Nuggets' real needs in the interior, the possibility of him continuing to compete in the NBA has increased significantly.

According to several North American media, Valan will "high probability" to continue to stay in the NBA in the new season and regard the Denver Nuggets as the ideal ending point.

If this signing is completed successfully, the Nuggets will form the "two-tower inside" of Jokic + Valanciunas, and have more tactical space and physical advantages when facing powerful centers in the league such as Embiid, Antetokounmpo and others.

Nuggets continue to strengthen their lineup, and aim to return to the peak.

Nuggets ended in the Western Conference semi-finals in 2024-25 season. The team exposed problems such as insufficient bench depth and insufficient hardness of the inside substitute. Especially when Jokic was out, the team's rebounding protection and defensive efficiency plummeted.

If Valanciunas can join, it will greatly make up for this shortcoming. He played 82 games for the Pelicans last season, averaging 12.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and is a typical inside player.

In addition, Valan has a tough game style, professional attitude and rich experience. It is an extremely reliable inside puzzle in the playoffs, which is also an attribute that the Nuggets urgently need at present.

"Eastern European centers appreciate each other and appreciate each other on the court"

In fact, although Jokic and Valanciunas have faced each other many times on the court, they have maintained a good relationship in private. Both came from Eastern European basketball systems and showed mutual respect for each other many times during the game.

This time, Jokic took the initiative to recruit Valan, which was not only a tactical need, but also showed the deep basketball friendship between the two.

Serbian media even joked: "This is the friendship of the Eastern European inside line, and it is also another joint force of Eastern European basketball in the NBA."

Jokic's leadership is once again reflected, and the Nuggets' forward rotation is expected to be upgraded

Whether Valanciunas is determined to join in the end, Jokic's personal call to recruit veterans itself demonstrates his sense of responsibility and leadership as the core of the team.

The Nuggets are still in a critical period of strengthening. If the signing of Valanciunas can be achieved, it will undoubtedly be an important part of the road to winning the championship in the new season. With Jokic performing stably for years, Denver is trying to reach the top again with a more mature team.