Jonas Valanciunas is free to write his next chapter.

Denver’s front office on Wednesday made the expected decision to waive the veteran center before the deadline. The move saves the Nuggets at least $8 million on next year’s cap sheet. Only $2 million of Valanciunas’ contract for next season was guaranteed. The guaranteed money can also be stretched across the next three seasons.

Valanciunas was acquired for Dario Saric last offseason and projected to be Denver’s second-string center. He appeared in 65 games, starting six, in his lone season with the Nuggets, averaging 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. Both those numbers dropped in limited minutes in four of Denver’s six playoff games.

The 34-year-old is now an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with any other NBA team or continue his career in Europe. Valanciunas reportedly had interest in playing for a Greek club last summer, but he honored his contract with the Nuggets.

With Valanciunas on the move, the Nuggets still have a few options on the roster to back up Nikola Jokic. Denver reportedly signed Marvin Bagley III to a one-year contract, while Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes II could be options deeper on the bench. Bagley, an athletic 6-foot-10 big, averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 60 appearances for the Wizards and Mavericks last season.

If the Nuggets want to add more size, there are a few intriguing names left on the free-agent market who could be had for minimum contracts. That list is getting shorter by the day after Larry Nance Jr. agreed to a deal with the Pacers on Wednesday. Here’s who’s left:

Kevin Love

Love spent last season in Utah while the Jazz were in full-on tank mode after being traded by the Heat. Utah will be significantly better this season, but the Jazz are still a few years away from potentially contending. Love’s long been a solid locker room presence and at 37 should be looking for a place he could potentially win a championship. If signing Love to a minimum helps Denver’s slim chances to land LeBron James, it’s worth a shot.

Nick Richards

The 28-year-old is the most impactful center who could feasibly head to Denver this summer. He averaged 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and nearly a block per game as a depth option to close last season in Chicago. The Bulls have since added Nic Claxton, limiting Richards’ role moving forward. Denver could pitch the 6-11 Richards on an opportunity in Denver that would be similar to the 22.4 minutes he played across 20 games for the Bulls.

Mason Plumlee

The 7-footer spent parts of four seasons with Nuggets and a return to Denver could be the best spot for him to continue his career. Plumlee played in a total of 20 regular-season games for the Hornets (14) and Spurs (six) last season. His only postseason playing time came at the end of blowouts. San Antonio went on to draft two bigs in the first round, so Denver could be Plumlee’s best chance to get back in a rotation.

Dwight Powell

Powell’s numbers don’t pop off the page, but he’s been getting consistent playing time in Dallas for a decade. After being the primary starter in 2021-22 and 2022-23, the 34-year-old moved back to a bench role. He averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game last season.