The agreed-upon trade between the Nuggets and Kings that will send Jonas Valanciunas to Denver and Dario Saric to Sacramento will likely be completed this weekend, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links).
According to Stein, the delay was due to the Nuggets needing additional time to finalize “all aspects” of their Michael Porter Jr./Cameron Johnson trade with the Nets. Both of those players have extensive injury histories, so that may have played a factor, though Stein didn’t explicitly say that.
Denver had to formally complete the Porter/Johnson deal before it could acquire Valanciunas due to the way the trades were structured.
Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:
- Head coach David Adelman believes Valanciunas can be the offensive hub of the Nuggets‘ second unit, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays. “Point center. You can play combo guards. You don’t need a lead point guard (in lineups with Valanciunas),” Adelman said on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast. “You can play five-out offense, play off the elbow, post him up. He’s such a skilled player. … He shoots the ball better than most people realize. So that’s how I envision him. I think you have multiple combination guards. You can get away with that with a guy like that.”
- The Thunder have signed (or are signing) their top three players — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — to maximum-salary extensions this summer. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports explains why Oklahoma City is uniquely well positioned to manage the punitive aspects of having an expensive payroll in the future, noting that the defending champions may not operate over the second tax apron until the 2027/28 season.
- The Timberwolves are hiring Jack Gentry — a former Lakers coaching associate — to be their new head video coordinator, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Jack is the son of longtime NBA coach Alvin Gentry, who is currently a member of Sacramento’s front office.