The Nuggets didn’t expect Jonas Valanciunas to be ecstatic about a pivot to small-ball.
After all, he was already sacrificing. A starting center for close to his entire NBA career before this season — 90.5% of his games, to be exact — he took a back seat to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic when he arrived in Denver. He’s averaging 13.2 minutes per game, more than five fewer than his previous career-low.
So when he faded out of the rotation entirely in recent weeks? David Adelman believes Valanciunas is well within reason to feel miffed about that as a competitor, as long as it doesn’t become a distraction in the locker room. And it hasn’t, the first-year Nuggets coach vouched this week.
“I would say he has been as professional as you can be in this situation,” Adelman said. “And professional in our game means he should be pissed off — and he was — because he wants to play and help the team. Not because it’s about him. … He’s been great on the bench. He’s been great in film sessions. He’s worked out extremely hard. He’s done everything you ask of somebody to do. So I have complete trust in Jonas.”
Adelman started trying out a more switchable second unit in early March and found success with Spencer Jones in a quasi-backup center role. Playing time steadily declined for Valanciunas. A key turning point was March 12 in San Antonio. The Nuggets were outscored by eight during Jokic’s five-minute rest stint in the first half with Valanciunas at center. When Jokic’s next turn for a breather arrived at the start of the fourth quarter, Denver went small. Denver trimmed a 13-point deficit to five without him. Jones scored 12 of his 19 points in the final frame, galvanizing a comeback win.
“We’re just trying to find a rhythm with the small group to see if it’s gonna work,” Adelman said. “And to do that, you have to try. It can’t be one game, it doesn’t work, so now we’re gonna do (something else). You have to be consistent with it as best you can with who’s playing.”
After logging single-digit minutes in six of the first 10 games of the month, Valanciunas was a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) for five consecutive games. That streak ended last Sunday when he checked in for six solid minutes against Golden State. Jones had left the game with hamstring tightness.
“I will stay ready. What am I gonna say?” Valanciunas told The Denver Post when asked about Denver going a different direction. “Am I pissed off?”
He allowed that question to linger for a moment and go unanswered.
“As long as we’re winning the game, you know,” the 33-year-old continued. “I’m here if you need me. I’m here. I’m gonna do everything (I usually do). So it’s simple as that.”
Valanciunas has long been regarded as a jovial locker-room presence throughout the NBA, known for his sense of humor. On the court, he’s an old-school big who takes pride in his low-post game. When he has played this season, the Nuggets have made a point to feature him in their bench offense. He’s averaging 30.1 points per 100 possessions, his highest scoring rate in the last seven years, on 59% shooting from inside the arc.
At his best, he’s brought the stability Denver sorely needed in the non-Jokic minutes. Adelman was candid when he took over, saying one of his main regular-season goals was to avoid running his superstar into the ground before the playoffs.
But Valanciunas struggled to consistently establish himself inside after returning from a calf injury in January. The three-man bench combination of him, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown had a minus-4.5 net rating in the 24 games (192 minutes) spanning from when Valanciunas was cleared to play until his first DNP-CD. Defensively, the Nuggets have been limited to drop coverage and zone when Valanciunas is on the floor, leaving them more vulnerable to lineups that stretch the floor at all five positions.
“If that (small) lineup struggles for a few games, we can always go back to him,” Adelman said. “… I’ve been very proud of him. He’s been a starting center in this league for a long time. I know it’s not easy for him. … It’s nice to have somebody who understands that winning trumps everything, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The Lithuanian big man has described Denver, his sixth team, as the best chance he’s ever had to win a championship. He’s never reached the NBA Finals, though he famously had a near-miss in 2019, when the Raptors sent him to Memphis at the trade deadline, then went on to win the title. It was the end of his seven-year run in Toronto, but the despite his having played in 30 games during the championship season.
As the Nuggets try to finally get him one this spring, what exactly will his role be in the playoffs? Adelman’s message to him, for now, is to stay ready.
“We will see,” Valanciunas told The Post. “When they need me, I’m here. I’m working. I’m ready. No question about it, 100% here. And I’m 100% ready.”
