Jasikevicius: About year one in Barca, team's new players and difficult financial situation / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Zuma press – Scanpix Credit Zuma press – Scanpix

FC Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius had to adapt to the club's significantly tightened financial situation when recruiting new players this summer. He discussed a lot of other topics in an interview with Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo.

Coach, will Sarunas Jasikevicius continue to say what he really thinks or is he going to be more diplomatic now?

I think it will depend on the specific situation. When you have to say something straight, you just say, and that's it. When I speak, I believe to be doing the right thing, but there were also situations that I didn't like and had to defend myself.

The first year in Barcelona - titles in the ACB League and the King's Cup and the Euroleague final. You yourself would have asked for a little more, right?

Titles are important because they give a little peace of mind, but in my opinion, the most important thing is to create a project that lets players know where they are coming from, how they are training, playing, what the mentality should be. With the right attitude, we can achieve even more. We strive for consistency so that newcomers could understand that serious work will be required here. Let's hope that titles come. Only hard work, dedication, and being like a family in the locker room will bring results. This is very difficult to achieve, one year is not enough.

Did you expect success so soon?

I'm not the person waiting for something to happen. You need to maintain concentration every day. The main idea is to enter the most important matches of the season in good physical and emotional condition. Now, I don't think about what position we should take in the next ACB or EuroLeague season.

After a year at the helm of Barca, can it be said that the team plays exactly the way Jasikevicius wants?

There is always room for improvement. The most important thing is that we have made progress during the season. I demanded from players a different style of play, more team basketball, where one basketball player depends on another, we don't want to depend on just one player. We have many options, and we try to make every basketball player feel important and benefit the team.

Where else could your team improve?

The key to success is discipline and leadership, and we have improved on that. If you saw how the team played in October and how it looked at the end of the season, you'll notice that there's a lot more discipline, an understanding of how we want to play, where we can play more freely, and where we can be more disciplined. Our important players, Nick Calathes or Nikola Mirotic, have sacrificed a lot for the well-being of the team. It is vital that top-class Europeans play for the team. Today is my day, and I score 30 points, but the next day the other player is better, and we need to play through him.

Can the economic difficulties faced by the club have a negative impact on the team's potential?

The team is almost assembled. Decisions had to be made that were unpleasant, like the cases of Victor Clavero or Adam Hanga. Two great guys that I was very happy with. But in this situation, we decided together with the management of the club. I thanked them for what they did for Barca. It is what it is.

Hanga and Claver left the team even though they had valid contracts. Was this decision made more due to the changed economic situation or due to technical issues related to the players?

Yes, economic issues, one hundred percent. Day by day, we monitor the situation, pay attention to how the club management reacts, how much money we have to make deals, sign new contracts. We have a new president, and he sees what the economic situation is. And the situation is quite intense. It is what it is. We try to keep the core and add some new players. We also need to look to the future, as there are many players on the team who are over 30-years-old, which requires the integration of young guys. This is not an easy task.

How much will the club's budget decrease?

I do not know about these things. We make every effort to sign contracts to the best of our ability. I'm happy with what has been achieved so far.

Four outgoing players have already been officially confirmed (Hanga, Claver, Pustovyi, and Westermann), and one more is awaiting final decision (Bolmaro). On the other hand, only three newcomers (Sanli, Jokubaitis, and Laprovittola) were announced. It looks like another basketball player could be on his way in - a small forward. Will Barcelona have fewer players?

Yes. There were 16 players last season. Next season we think there will be 12 or 13 players. There are players like Sergi Martinez who earned a spot with their play. Now we have what we have.

Will Pau Gasol stay with the club?

At the moment, Pau hasn't decided on his future. As for us, we will do our job.

But if he decided to continue his career at the Catalan club, would there be money…

- I think that in a club like Barca, being Pau Gasol, the president would work something out (laughs).

Were there any attempts to find out about the chances of luring Marc Gasol?

No, there wasn't. We already have five big players. Nevertheless, Pau and Marc are special basketball players, I think you can go with them to the club president's office. Although, as I said, the fourth and fifth positions are already occupied.

Can you say more about Sanli, the first addition to Barcelona?

An important aspect about Sanli is that he is a slightly different player than Brandon Davies or Pierre Oriola. He is also different from Roland Smit, who sometimes also plays at the center.

Sanli plays much like Pau; he can open up at the 3-point line and attack from a distance. Such big men can cause a lot of trouble for opposing teams. Sanli suited us both from a financial standpoint and from the player's desire to compete for our team.

Signing a center away from the Euroleague champions is like shooting two bunnies with one shot. You strengthen your team but at the same time weaken the main rival's team.

Yes, but the idea is not to weaken somebody; the idea is to strengthen your team. Sanli greatly improved over the last two years, and he has experience playing major matches. I hope all goes well.

What can Rokas Jokubaitis give?

Jokubaitis was one of the two best young players (together with Usman Garuba) last season in the EuroLeague. He has been playing basketball for a long time. I have known him well since the time in Zalgiris. Hopefully, he will match in both the first and second positions, just like Bolmaro did. Still, they are basketball players of a slightly different profile. Thinking about the future, the long-term perspective, the team needs fresh blood. He may stay at Barca for a long time, but there is still an NBA Draft. Let's see how things turn out.

But there are no conditions for his exit this summer, right?

I think he can still slip out.

In other words, can NBA teams sign Jokubaitis if he is selected with a high draft pick?

Yes. The idea is that the player stays with us, but he is not insured. If Rokas is picked high, it will mean that the NBA team wants to see him play right away. If that happens, we'll have to make another correction, but I hope Rokas stays with us.

The club has announced another addition - Nicolas Laprovittola. It was a bit of a surprise move as he deviates from the ideal game plan, which starts with defense.

Nico has a lot of experience. He has played well for Real over the last 4-5 months. He's a different player than Calathes or Jokubaitis, and it's very important for me to have different basketball players. He already knows what it means to play at the highest level. Nico suits our team for many reasons.

The team lacks only a small forward?

We are looking for a player in this position, but it all depends on what our bosses say. Is there money or not? Is it possible or not? We live day by day. A year ago, everyone said we were missing a third position player, but we were playing with Abrines, Adam Hanga, Kuric... We also have Sergi Martinez.

Do you want to say that the club no longer has money for a "3"?

Currently, we do not have the means to sign such a player. We cannot go upstairs and ask for money. We know the economic situation of the club...

Does this mean that the club's roster may have already been completed?

Can be. If something shows up, we will have to go upstairs and find out if we can do it. I think it depends on other things: football and everything else. We have to wait. Now the NBA market is just getting started, but this year we have clear limits.

In this way, Red Star were able to compete with Barca in a fight for Nikola Kalinic.

Exactly, this is already the case, the situation in the club is quite clear to us.

If there was a small forward you could invite, what type of player would you like?

I know you're talking about positions, but I like versatile players who can play in multiple positions, especially on defense. I'm not looking for a "3". Maybe I'm looking for a player who can defend because we lost Claver, Bolmaro, Hanga. We are happy with what we have at the moment.

You talked last season about the team needing more bad guys. Are Sanli, Jokubaitis and Laprovittola such players?

An Argentine player on the team is always good. We need to get more out of Jokubaitis and Sanli. Rokas is our bet for the future, but we'll ask a little bit of that from Sanli.

Are reduced salaries being negotiated with players?

This is not an issue in my field. I think the club is doing its job. The new president of the club came into a situation that wasn't the best.

Has the club asked you to reduce your salary?

No, I wasn't asked to do that. I know they need to talk to the players first. Maybe they'll talk to me after that.

Has the team's competitiveness suffered after those changes?

I don't think so. Maybe we're different, but I don't think we've lost competitiveness. We played for almost the entire last season without a second playmaker, and now we have him. We didn't have a tall center last season until Pau arrived, and now we have him from the start. Perhaps the composition is now more cohesive. We have lost defensive players, so we will have to work even harder. Players will need to understand this. But we have improved in other positions.

Real Madrid seem to have fewer financial constraints. They have already signed Heurtel, Hanga, Willliams-Goss, Yabusele, Poirier. What do you think about Real?

Madrid will always be Madrid. They always have a good team. The players they brought in didn't surprise me.

Does the fact that Heurtel and Hanga, who split with Barcelona, ​​are with Real add a little more pressure?

The pressure I put on myself and my players is greater than any players' moves. These are market things, and we have to come to terms with that. I have to focus on how to include Laprovittola in the team. Other things should be the focus of the media.

Current roster

FC Barcelona

Position Player Status PG Nick Calathes Signed until 2023 PG Leandro Bolmaro Signeduntil 2023 PG Rokas Jokubaitis(story) Signed until 2023 +2 PG/SG Nicolas Laprovittola(story) Signed until 2023 SG Cory Higgins(story) Signed until 2024 SG Kyle Kuric Signeduntil 2023 SF Alex Abrines(story) Signed until 2026 PF Nikola Mirotic Signeduntil 2025 PF Rolands Smits Signeduntil 2022 PF Sergi Martinez(story) Signeduntil 2024 C Sertac Sanli(story) Signed until 2023 C Brandon Davies Signeduntil 2022 C Pierre Oriola Signeduntil 2024 Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius Expired contract Pau Gasol, Artem Pustovyi (story) Rumored to leave Leandro Bolmaro (NBA), Victor Claver (not coming back), Leo Westermann, Adam Hanga (not coming back) Interested

See all the EuroLeague transfer market newshere.

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