Why did Valanciunas give up his annual NBA contract of $10.4 million and choose the Greek team s three-year, $14 million contract?

First of all, the contracts provided by European teams are all after-tax contracts, and the 14 million US dollars in these three years are all the actual salary that Valan has obtained. However, after deducting most of the fees (federal tax + state tax + custody fee + broker commission), Valanciunas's NBA contract with an annual salary of $10.4 million is expected to be only about $4.5 million to $5.2 million.

Varan's NBA salary next season will definitely be hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than the European League, but Valanan's NBA contract last year will have team options, and the Nuggets will not implement the team options for this contract by 100%. Valan is not a young player either. He is already 33 years old and is considered a veteran. He will definitely give priority to contracts with longer years.

What's more, Valanen is a European player, and his return to the European League is more conducive to his gaining more business cooperation. Greece is not far from Valan's hometown Lithuania. When he goes to the Greek league, he can also enjoy the treatment of a star player. If he chooses to stay in the NBA, he can only act as a substitute for Jokic. Although he has a very high chance of winning the NBA championship, Valan has no desire for an NBA championship, otherwise he will not insist on leaving the NBA and returning to the European League to play.

With a large difference in annual salary, longer contract years, and closer to home, it is very reasonable for Valan to choose to return to Europe to play.