Jasikevicius about Calathes: 'I get paid to do this as far as I know' / News - Basketnews.com

Barcelona's head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius commented on Nick Calathes, losing Nikola Mirotic, and Kazys Maksvytis's duties as both the national team manager and head coach of a EuroLeague team.

Credit: Teodoras Biliūnas/BNS Credit Teodoras Biliūnas/BNS

Sarunas Jasikevicius arrives in Lithuania to face his former club Zalgiris Kaunas once again. No matter how many times he comes back to Zalgiris Arena, each time is special for him.

FC Barcelona / Schedule

FC Barcelona Real Madrid75-73 FC Bayern Munich FC Barcelona73-84 Zalgiris Kaunas FC BarcelonaThu17:00

Just a week ago, Saras' former player Nick Calathes made headlines with his statements about Jasikevicius' system and the way he asks to execute his gameplan.

Asked to comment on the situation, the Lithuanian specialist did not expand a lot.

"I get paid to do this as far as I know," he said.

Barcelona started the season without their superstar Nikola Mirotic. Losing the main player of the entire offense would usually mean significant issues for a team. However, Saras downplayed the situation.

"It's not easy. It's not the first injured player in history though. You just need to adjust, go out there and just work," the coach explained. "You set some goals. These are standard issues everyone goes through."

Besides coaching Zalgiris Kaunas, the Lithuanian team's head coach Kazys Maksvytis is also leading the Lithuanian national team. Jasikevicius told it would be hard for him to take the two most heated seats in Lithuanian basketball.

"You can feel sorry for him as much as you want, he chose it himself," Saras commented. "Nobody forced him into it. It would be hard for me. He might have decided that it's not hard for him, you'd need to ask him. I don't envy him."

The match between Barcelona and Zalgiris is scheduled to begin at 19:00 CET tomorrow, October 20th.

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