Kori Ellis
07-12-2005, 09:06 PM
12/07/2005
LTU - Jasikevicius: will he stay in Israel?
FIBA.com
TEL AVIV (NBA/) - The biggest question being asked at Maccabi Tel Aviv these days involves their inspirational Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Will he remain in European basketball and play for the Israeli giants again next season, or does Sara finally cross the Atlantic and realise his dream of playing in the NBA?
For the first time since Jasikevicius left the University of Maryland seven years ago, the interest in him from NBA teams is very high.
That's right. Even after his glorious summer of 2003 when he led Lithuania to EuroBasket glory, and even after he almost single-handedly fired his country to a come-from-behind win over Team USA at last year's Olympics in the preliminary round, Jasikevicius' stock has never been higher.
"I know that my time is now," he told the Washington Post in a story published June 29. "I'm very happy with what I've done (in Europe), but the NBA has always been my dream."
At 29 years old, Jasikevicius is at a crossroads. If he doesn't try the NBA now, he may never play in the league. Among the teams to have expressed strong interest in him are Indiana, Boston, Cleveland, Utah and Dallas.
Cleveland might be able to pay him the most, but playing time seems most important to Jasikevicius as he makes the most important decision of his career.
"My general direction this summer is the NBA, and if I get an offer from a strong team, with a shot at the NBA title and the possibility for me to play meaningful minutes, I'll play there," Jasikevicius told a Lithuanian newspaper earlier this week.
Jasikevicius is expected to lead his country again in Serbia & Montenegro where they will defend their EuroBasket gold medal.
There has been plenty of player movement already, with much more in store. Here are some of the players who are making news inside and outside the NBA:
Fran Vazquez, the talented centre from Spain who was the 11th overall pick in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic, is negotiating his release from Unicaja Malaga.
Vazquez' current contract reportedly calls for a buyout amount of close to 600,000 US dollars. Under rules of the last collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, an NBA team could contribute only 350,000 dollars to any buyout of a player contract with a team outside the NBA. That means if Unicaja Malaga hold to their buyout number, Vazquez must make up the remaining amount, close to 250,000 dollars.
Johan Petro, the giant centre from Pau Orthez in France, was selected with the 25th overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics. Petro expressed his wish to come to play for Seattle right away rather than stay another year in Europe, but his youth and inexperience might guide Seattle to let him stay in Europe for another season.
Seattle's second round pick, Mickael Gelabale of France who plays for Real Madrid, is thought to be contractually obligated to remain in Spain for at least one more season.
Linas Kleiza, the Lithuanian forward who played two college seasons at the University of Missouri, signed a contract with the Denver Nuggets, who acquired his draft rights the night of the draft from the Portland Trail Blazers. Kleiza receives a minimum of two years of guaranteed salary under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement.
Ersan Ilyasova, the sweet-shooting forward from Turkey, was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite the fact that Ilyasova just turned 18 years old in May, Bucks general manager Larry Harris said he wants the youngster on the team this fall.
"He is a guy we hope can be on our roster," Harris told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I challenged our staff to find a guy who we think can be a ninth or 10th man. His intentions and our intentions are to have him on the team next year."
Uros Slokar, a Slovenian forward who plays for Snaidero Udine in Italy and was drafted 58th overall by the Toronto Raptors, will remain in Italy for another season. However, the team has given him permission to play for Toronto in NBA summer leagues held this month in Long Beach, California and Minneapolis.
Robertas Javtokas, a centre from Lithuania whose NBA draft rights are owned by the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, has decided to play one more season for Lithuanian powerhouse Lietuvos Rytas, the ULEB Cup winners this year who earned a spot in the Euroleague for next season. Javtokas is 25 years old and has played for Lietuvos Rytas for six seasons.
Marcus Brown, the top scorer for Russian champions CSKA Moscow, has terminated his contract with the club by mutual agreement. CSKA won the Russian Superleague both seasons Brown played there. The 31-year-old former Murray State star has played in the NBA for Portland and Detroit and wants a return to the NBA. He averaged 15.9 ppg for CSKA last season.
Drew Nicholas, who played his college basketball at Maryland, continued to cement his status as one of Europe's best players by agreeing to a contract with Benetton Treviso of Italy.
Nicholas had led the Italian League in scoring (22.8 ppg) for Basket Livorno in 2004-05 before joining Tau Ceramica of Spain for the ACB play-offs.
Nicholas helped Tau reach the final but they lost to Real Madrid in five games.
Roberto Duenas, the massive Spanish centre who was plagued by injuries all season, announced that he and Barcelona have mutually agreed to a termination of the final year of his contract. Duenas, whose NBA draft rights are held by the New Orleans Hornets, is expected to sign with another team in Spain.
Marko Popovic, an excellent young point guard who last played for Cibona VIP Zagreb of Croatia, has signed a two-year contract with Turkish champions Efes Pilsen. Popovic, who played briefly at the University of Southern Idaho in 2000 and was never selected in the NBA Draft, is a player many NBA teams have been watching with the idea that he will one day make his way to the league. Popovic averaged 15.4 points per game and dished out 4.0 assists per contest in the Euroleague for Cibona last year.
LTU - Jasikevicius: will he stay in Israel?
FIBA.com
TEL AVIV (NBA/) - The biggest question being asked at Maccabi Tel Aviv these days involves their inspirational Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Will he remain in European basketball and play for the Israeli giants again next season, or does Sara finally cross the Atlantic and realise his dream of playing in the NBA?
For the first time since Jasikevicius left the University of Maryland seven years ago, the interest in him from NBA teams is very high.
That's right. Even after his glorious summer of 2003 when he led Lithuania to EuroBasket glory, and even after he almost single-handedly fired his country to a come-from-behind win over Team USA at last year's Olympics in the preliminary round, Jasikevicius' stock has never been higher.
"I know that my time is now," he told the Washington Post in a story published June 29. "I'm very happy with what I've done (in Europe), but the NBA has always been my dream."
At 29 years old, Jasikevicius is at a crossroads. If he doesn't try the NBA now, he may never play in the league. Among the teams to have expressed strong interest in him are Indiana, Boston, Cleveland, Utah and Dallas.
Cleveland might be able to pay him the most, but playing time seems most important to Jasikevicius as he makes the most important decision of his career.
"My general direction this summer is the NBA, and if I get an offer from a strong team, with a shot at the NBA title and the possibility for me to play meaningful minutes, I'll play there," Jasikevicius told a Lithuanian newspaper earlier this week.
Jasikevicius is expected to lead his country again in Serbia & Montenegro where they will defend their EuroBasket gold medal.
There has been plenty of player movement already, with much more in store. Here are some of the players who are making news inside and outside the NBA:
Fran Vazquez, the talented centre from Spain who was the 11th overall pick in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic, is negotiating his release from Unicaja Malaga.
Vazquez' current contract reportedly calls for a buyout amount of close to 600,000 US dollars. Under rules of the last collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, an NBA team could contribute only 350,000 dollars to any buyout of a player contract with a team outside the NBA. That means if Unicaja Malaga hold to their buyout number, Vazquez must make up the remaining amount, close to 250,000 dollars.
Johan Petro, the giant centre from Pau Orthez in France, was selected with the 25th overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics. Petro expressed his wish to come to play for Seattle right away rather than stay another year in Europe, but his youth and inexperience might guide Seattle to let him stay in Europe for another season.
Seattle's second round pick, Mickael Gelabale of France who plays for Real Madrid, is thought to be contractually obligated to remain in Spain for at least one more season.
Linas Kleiza, the Lithuanian forward who played two college seasons at the University of Missouri, signed a contract with the Denver Nuggets, who acquired his draft rights the night of the draft from the Portland Trail Blazers. Kleiza receives a minimum of two years of guaranteed salary under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement.
Ersan Ilyasova, the sweet-shooting forward from Turkey, was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite the fact that Ilyasova just turned 18 years old in May, Bucks general manager Larry Harris said he wants the youngster on the team this fall.
"He is a guy we hope can be on our roster," Harris told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I challenged our staff to find a guy who we think can be a ninth or 10th man. His intentions and our intentions are to have him on the team next year."
Uros Slokar, a Slovenian forward who plays for Snaidero Udine in Italy and was drafted 58th overall by the Toronto Raptors, will remain in Italy for another season. However, the team has given him permission to play for Toronto in NBA summer leagues held this month in Long Beach, California and Minneapolis.
Robertas Javtokas, a centre from Lithuania whose NBA draft rights are owned by the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, has decided to play one more season for Lithuanian powerhouse Lietuvos Rytas, the ULEB Cup winners this year who earned a spot in the Euroleague for next season. Javtokas is 25 years old and has played for Lietuvos Rytas for six seasons.
Marcus Brown, the top scorer for Russian champions CSKA Moscow, has terminated his contract with the club by mutual agreement. CSKA won the Russian Superleague both seasons Brown played there. The 31-year-old former Murray State star has played in the NBA for Portland and Detroit and wants a return to the NBA. He averaged 15.9 ppg for CSKA last season.
Drew Nicholas, who played his college basketball at Maryland, continued to cement his status as one of Europe's best players by agreeing to a contract with Benetton Treviso of Italy.
Nicholas had led the Italian League in scoring (22.8 ppg) for Basket Livorno in 2004-05 before joining Tau Ceramica of Spain for the ACB play-offs.
Nicholas helped Tau reach the final but they lost to Real Madrid in five games.
Roberto Duenas, the massive Spanish centre who was plagued by injuries all season, announced that he and Barcelona have mutually agreed to a termination of the final year of his contract. Duenas, whose NBA draft rights are held by the New Orleans Hornets, is expected to sign with another team in Spain.
Marko Popovic, an excellent young point guard who last played for Cibona VIP Zagreb of Croatia, has signed a two-year contract with Turkish champions Efes Pilsen. Popovic, who played briefly at the University of Southern Idaho in 2000 and was never selected in the NBA Draft, is a player many NBA teams have been watching with the idea that he will one day make his way to the league. Popovic averaged 15.4 points per game and dished out 4.0 assists per contest in the Euroleague for Cibona last year.