Jasikevicius: 'I don't care if I have a contract or not, I want to win' / News - Basketnews.com

Saras told that the talk about contracts is usual at the end of the season and both the players and coaches have to learn how to deal with it. He stressed that he wants to win the ACB title and that's the most important thing for him. He will think about the future during the summer, he says.

Credit: Rokas Snarskis Credit Rokas Snarskis

FC Barcelona defeated Valencia Basket to go up 1-0 in the Spanish Liga Endesa (ACB) quarterfinal series. Despite the result, questions still loom over the future of some of the members of the Barca organization.

Player of the Game EFF 29 Nikola Mirotic Points 27 Accuracy 9-13 Rebounds 2 Assists 2

It was reported that Barca are about to have budget cuts next season. At the same time, a report came out that the organization delivered an ultimatum to its biggest star Nikola Mirotic.

After the win, head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius commented on the situation.

"I believe that we have to be intelligent and professional in this situation. Yes, I can talk to the players. Have I talked to them about it in recent weeks? No. I think that there will be situations such as contracts every year, but this does not have to take away from our desire to win the league," Saras said.

"I don't know when the career [in Barca] is going to be over, especially for the players, because mine only starts as a coach, right?" he continued. "You have the numbers that we haven't won that many leagues, that many cups, or that many Euroleagues. In some cases, you can only win one this year. I don't care if I have a contract or not, I want to win this league, really."

Since last winning the EuroLeague title in 2010, Barca have spent more than 300 million euros in player salaries. They haven't won a single title this season, a situation that Saras has described as a disappointment.

Despite it all, the Lithuanian specialist wants to focus on what is on the table at the moment.

"It's the only thing I have left to win this year. I'll look at it later during the summer [when I'm] with friends, with a glass of wine or something like that, but you can only win one right now. That is how we are improving our CVs," Jasikevicius told.

"I don't really know what happens. What happens [now] is a lot of noise. You have to know how to put up with noise if you are a Barca player, if you are a Barca coach," he said. "We can talk, but each one [of us] has to be ambitious and get this out [of the system] because, in the end, we play to win. I don't care about anything else, just winning."

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.