Denver Nuggets Optimize Cap Management with Valanciunas Waiver
The Denver Nuggets didn’t just move on from Jonas Valanciunas this summer. They turned his contract into a cap-management exercise that underlines exactly what life looks like for a contender living above the NBA’s second apron.
Valanciunas, a 14-year veteran, was waived in July after just one season in Denver. On paper, he was lined up for a $10 million salary in 2026-27. In reality, almost all of that money was never going to hit the books. His deal was non-guaranteed, and the Nuggets used that flexibility exactly the way front offices dream about when they sign these contracts.
Nuggets Stretch Valanciunas’ Deal
The latest twist came at the end of August. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Denver chose to stretch the remaining $2 million on Valanciunas’ 2026-27 salary.
That single decision reshapes how his contract sits on their cap sheet.
Instead of carrying a $2 million dead-money hit in one season, the Nuggets will now pay out a little under $700,000 per year over the next three seasons. It’s a small number, but in the second-apron era, small numbers matter. Every marginal saving can be the difference between flexibility and handcuffs.
The key here: that $2 million figure is already a reduced amount from the original $10 million he was slated to earn. Because the contract was non-guaranteed, Denver could walk away without eating the full amount. They did exactly that, then stretched the remaining piece to soften the short-term blow.
Why Denver Cut Ties
This wasn’t about performance alone. Valanciunas gave Denver solid minutes last season when available. In 65 games during the 2025-26 campaign, he averaged 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in just over 13 minutes per night, shooting 58.2% from the field. For a backup behind Nikola Jokic, those are perfectly respectable numbers.
The problem was price, role, and the new financial reality.
Denver is the only team currently sitting over the NBA’s second apron. That status comes with harsh penalties: reduced team-building tools, fewer exceptions, and tight restrictions on how they can improve around Jokic and the core. Paying $10 million for a center playing 13 minutes a game simply didn’t fit that picture.
So the Nuggets made the cold calculation contenders often have to make. Cut the non-guaranteed contract. Take the smaller dead-money hit. Use the savings to breathe just a little easier under a punishing cap system.
By waiving Valanciunas, Denver shaved more than $1 million off their total salary for the 2026-27 season. By stretching the remaining $2 million, they turned one moderate cap dent into three very small ones that run through 2028-29.
A Long Tail for Short-Term Relief
There is a trade-off. Valanciunas will now sit on Denver’s books as dead money through the 2028-29 season. The number is tiny in relative terms, but it lingers. That’s the price of smoothing out the hit now.
For the Nuggets, the math still works.
They ease immediate pressure against the second apron. They open just a bit more room to maneuver as they finalize their 15-man roster for 2026-27. They keep their options slightly more open in a cap environment that keeps tightening around high-spending teams.
A year ago, Valanciunas was a useful veteran big anchoring second-unit minutes behind the league’s best center. Today, he’s a line item—stretched, minimized, and weaponized in the Nuggets’ ongoing fight with the salary cap.
Denver has made its choice: every dollar must justify its place next to Jokic’s prime.
