Dragic on joining Zalgiris: 'You do not turn down that kind of offer' / News - Basketnews.com

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Slovenian Zoran Dragic, who officially joined Zalgiris Kaunas last weekend, is getting used to Lithuania and preparing to fully join the training sessions of the new club.

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For the 32-year-old player, Zalgiris will be the sixth EuroLeague club in his career. About the reasons to join the Kaunas club and other topics, Dragic talked to Rytis Kazlauskas on the ZalgirisOnAir+ podcast.

"I look forward to being part of the Zalgiris family. I know basketball here is the number one sport with a deep tradition. The club has probably the best fans in all of Europe and I am just very happy to be here,” said the player of the Slovenian national team.

"I had a few other offers as well, but I didn’t think these were the best options for my career. When Zalgiris came with an offer, you could not turn down that kind of team."

Zoran Dragic has previously worked with the head coach of Zalgiris Kaunas, Jure Zdovc, in the Slovenian national team. The athlete hopes that the acquaintance with the new team will not take long and he will be able to quickly contribute to the Zalgiris game's changes.

"It’s always easier to join a team from the start of the season. You can better get to know the teammates, the system, etc. Clearly, it’s not easy, but we’re professional athletes. I will try to jump into the situation and learn everything as soon as possible.

I am here to give the team a new face, to add energy. I want the team to return to where it needs to be - to victories," claimed Dragic.

In 2017, Zoran was stopped by a severe knee injury, which again prevented Dragic from gaining momentum a year later.

In the 2018-19 season, Dragic joined the modest Pallacanestro Trieste club in Italy. After a successful stint there, he started climbing upstairs and reached Ratiopharm Ulm.

Last season the 1.96-meter swingman spent with Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and played in the strongest continental competition.

"I have always set a goal to return to the EuroLeague and I think this is the place for me. Clearly, one of the reasons I didn’t play in the EuroLeague was my knee injury. I had to start all over again. But you can learn from every injury. I fought to return to the EuroLeague," told Zalgiris newcomer.

"If I always give 100 percent, I will never have to look back and regret something."

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