The Nuggets informed Valanciunas' representatives that "the franchise fully intends to have him honor his contract," reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. If Denver sticks to its guns on this, the conversation is over.

The Denver Nuggets have made it clear this offseason that they need a dependable backup center behind Nikola Jokic. The front office moved quickly to address that concern by targeting veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas.

The Nuggets dealt Dario Sarič to the Sacramento Kings and secured Valančiūnas as a backup option to Nikola Jokić, shoring up a key need behind the three-time NBA MVP. Valančiūnas, a 33-year-old native of Lithuania,