Paulius Motiejunas confirms his interest in becoming EuroLeague CEO / News - Basketnews.com

Paulius Motiejunas said he would be interested in becoming EuroLeague CEO, adding that the decision could be made by the end of June.

Credit: zalgiris.lt Credit zalgiris.lt

Zalgiris Kaunas director and general manager Paulius Motiejunas confirmed that he would be interested in replacing Marshall Glickman as EuroLeague CEO.

Last week, Glickman announced that he steps down from his CEO position, and Motiejunas was named as one of the candidates that could replace him.

"There were some talks and discussions," Motiejunas told Linas Jocius from Delfi. "Obviously, it's a prestigious post. If there's trust from all teams… What person that works in basketball wouldn't want to be EuroLeague CEO?"

"It's a big responsibility, a great tournament, great teams, and the best competition in Europe. I don't want to pretend and say it doesn't interest me. There will be shareholders' meetings, we will talk and see how everything will go. I think we will have a decision in June or at the end of the summer at the latest," Motiejunas added.

Motiejunas joined Zalgiris as a Communication director in 2007 and was promoted to a general manager position in 2009.

He took over the director position in 2013 and helped Zalgiris to navigate through one of the most difficult periods in the club's history.

Aris Barkas from Eurohoops reported that Anadolu Efes Istanbulgeneral manager Alper Yilmaz andFenerbahce Beko Istanbulgeneral manager Maurizio Gherardini are also among those who are being internally discussed as potential successors of Glickman.

Yilmaz, 48, is a former player who spent all his career in Turkey, including six seasons with Efes. Just like Paulius Jankunas in Zalgiris this year, Yilmaz stepped into the club's management straight after his retirement in 2009.

From 2009 to 2015, he was working in Efes as a sports director, while in 2015, he was promoted to the general manager position.

Yilmaz was named EuroLeague Executive of the Year in 2021, and 2022 after Efes won back-to-back EuroLeague titles.

Meanwhile, the 67-year-old Gherardini is the most experienced executive among this trio. The current Fenerbahce general manager worked for Benetton Treviso, Toronto Raptors, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gherardini won the EuroLeague Executive of the Year award in 2017.

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