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Photo: BNS
BNS photo
Thomas Walkup, Nigel Hayes and Artūras Milaknis are close to staying in Kaunas “Žalgiris,” said club director Paulius Motiejūnas at the press conference.
Triples are released this season
Milaknis became a free agent this summer, but “Žalgiris” is negotiating a new deal with him, and the actions were fueled by a two-year contract with new head coach Martin Schiller.
“Until now, Milaknis has no contract, but we really want him to stay, we believe in that, we are negotiating.” We believe that the appointment of a coach was the last stage that Artūras was waiting for. We hope to reach an agreement soon and continue to see it in “Žalgiris”, Motiejūnas said at the press conference.
Speaking about the team’s legionaries, Motiejūnas noted that Australian Jock Landale may move to another club, and Kaunas residents are talking to the player’s agents about it. At the time, Hayes and Walkup were reaching an agreement to extend cooperation.
The Landale and Hayes contracts have advantages, and Walkup has a guaranteed contract with the club.
“In the case of an athlete, he can go anywhere (to the NBA or a European club – aut. Past). We saw that a case had been written about the Barcelona case, but we had no contact with them. Probably your agent is working. As much as we talked to Jock before, his plan was the NBA. We also knew when we wrote the contract that his goal was the NBA. We will try to find a solution.
This confusing situation is very damaging to Landale, as the free agent market will only start on October 15, and we cannot and do not want to wait until then. There is an open conversation with his agents about how to allow him not to put the club in a situation where we only know about his future at the club in October.
The situations of Nigel Hayes and Thomas Walkup are different. There really are talks with them and their agents, and I think we look forward, and it looks like they will come back and continue to work with us, ”said Motiejūnas.
The new team coach will arrive in Kaunas in the first weeks of August.
– How was the search for the coach? – asked the Motiejūnas journalists.
– Frankly, we have never had so many candidates. We also saw in the press how many last names there were, and the agents wrote a lot, and the coaches themselves wrote. When it was not possible to reach an agreement with the Lithuanian, there were 30-40 surnames among the candidates in the international market. In the final stage, we talked seriously with the 4 candidates we selected. We choose one.
– How close were you to an agreement with Kazys Maksvytis?
– It is difficult to measure. We agreed everything with Kazis, but the club just didn’t start and everything. There was a successful conversation with the coach, a good discussion, everything fell into place. Just a situation where you have a contract and obligations.
– When will you start to choose the seat of a coach?
– Today we will start talking and talking. I hope I can withdraw money in a week. We will talk to the coach, we will collect his suggestions for him, what we can recommend. We will let you speak to everyone and choose for yourself. I don’t think it’s 100 percent. Lithuanian headquarters, but we will try to have as many Lithuanians as possible. I think there will be a majority of them.
– How do you manage to complete the lineup?
– We are waiting for the core to remain. Players who have advantages in their contracts have a few days left. Probably only Jock Landale should be selected, speaking to him and his agents, he really wants to go, especially to the NBA. This embarrassing situation is very damaging to him, since the free agent market will only start on October 15, and we cannot and do not want to wait until then. There is an open conversation with his agents about how to allow him not to put the club in a situation where we only know about his future at the club in October. And all the other players, we think they will stay. We are negotiating. Once the coach joins, another position will be yours. He liked our composition.
– Has Schiller been the number one candidate from the start?
– I can’t say number one. We chose many last names and put the pros and cons. Age was a problem. We use modern technology, we want the coach to be familiar with it. Above all, he didn’t want the coach to come with his complete system and we should change according to the coach. We grew up with Shar and we want the people left on the team to keep moving forward. We as an organization also wanted to move forward. The main idea was the coach’s ambition and hunger.
– Will Evaldas Beržininkaitis stay on the team?
– I hope he stays. And Evaldas, the doctors, Nerijus Navickas and everyone else who was not on the team. We hope to continue working with them.
– Schiller is not from the Euroleague kitchen. Do you see the risks in this election and what does the coach himself think about moving to the G League?
– There is a risk, but we see the fact that it is not known in Europe as an advantage. It is not removed by other coaches. We understand that support will be needed and we are ready to provide it. From the beginning we feel the desire to come, hunger.
We talk about the difference between European basketball and NBA basketball, but we agree that there is no good or bad style, we will look for a combination, the most suitable option to achieve victories. It is fresh blood and we will help it grow and hope to grow on our own. It will take patience, it will take work, but we are ready.
– You said the coach will be able to choose various positions. What are they?
– You have to wait a few days. We have a lot to do with the finish line. The coach is informed that these positions coincide. When there are signatures, we will post. Minimal changes in composition will certainly be considered and implemented.
“Žalgiris” set:
 |
Kaunas “Žalgiris” |
||
| Position | Player | Years | Height |
| PG | Lukas Lekavičius (news) | 26 | 181 |
| PG | Rokas Jokubaitis | 19 | 192 |
| SG / PG | Thomas walkup | 27 | 193 |
| SG | Marius Grigonis (news) | 26 | 198 |
| SG | Tomás Dimša (News) | 26 | 196 |
| SG / SF | Steve’as Vasturia (News) | 25 | 196 |
| SG | Karolis Lukošiūnas | 22 | 195 |
| PF / SF | Nigel Hayes (+1) | 25 | 203 |
| PF / C | Paulius Jankūnas | 36 | 205 |
| C | Martin Geben | 25 | 208 |
| C | Jock Landale (+1) | 24 | 211 |
| C | Marekas Blaževičius (News) | 18 years | 207 |
| Coach | Martin Schiller (News) | ||
| Expired contracts: | Edgaras Ulanovas (will not return), Artūras Milaknis, KC Riversas (will not return), Šarūnas Jasikevičius (will not return), Gytis Masiulis (will not return), Zachas LeDay (will not return) | ||
| Dominates | Artūras Milaknis, Agustín Rubitas | ||
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