By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Lithuanian compatriots Jonas Valanciunas and Sarunas Jasikevicius played together back in the 2010-11 season for Lietuvos Rytas and there’s a possibility they will end up in the same team again, this time around as a coach and a player.
Jasikevicius has been getting on NBA teams’ radar recently and Valanciunas’ Memphis Grizzlies have been no exception. In his interview with 15min.lt, Valanciunas shared that the Grizzlies asked his opinion on the Zalgiris coach: “Memphis asked me about Saras, about his personality, my relationship with him. I think Saras is a unique coach. Not every coach could handle Zalgiris as he did. I think he deserves an NBA head coaching job.”
He does think, though, Saras would have to make some adjustments although it shouldn’t be an issue for him: “He would need to make adjustments, but everything is possible for him. He is still growing as a coach and he knows how to adapt and what to change to become an NBA head coach. I think there would be no problem with it.”
Of course, Jasikevicius joining the Grizzlies would also greatly influence Valanciunas’ decision to stay: “Firstly, I want to see who’ll coach Memphis. It will have a big impact on my decision because I want to know how we’re gonna look in 82 games. I don’t want to be a tourist. I want to win.”
He also expressed his desire for the 31-year-old guard Mike Conley to stay: “He is a high-level player who knows how to run the team. I need him.”