2023-06-26 16:37:25
BarcelonaNew script twist: Sarunas Jasikevicius will not continue at Barça. The club and the Lithuanian coach, who is out of contract, have not reached an agreement to extend the link. The coach, tired of the internal organization of the entity, has an offer to go as an assistant in the NBA, but he has not yet decided his professional future. Barça expected a more significant salary reduction proposal. Saras ends a three-year spell on the Barcelona bench in which he won two Liga Endesa titles, two Copa del Rey titles and one Catalan League title. In addition, he has classified the team for the final four three consecutive years.
The club is starting a new project in the basketball section and has reached an agreement with Roger Grimau, who will be the coach for the next two seasons, until June 30, 2025. This is Joan Laporta’s most personal bet , who in 2015 wanted Grimau to be the technical secretary of the section. Roger Esteller (executive) and Audie Norris (plant manager) completed that project. Josep Maria Bartomeu won the presidential elections and everything was diluted.
The president is looking to repeat the formula that worked so well for him with Xavi Pascual or Pep Guardiola. Grimau, who was a columnist for the newspaper ARA, has a major challenge. “I’ve been at Barça for many years, I know what I want and where I’m going. I have very clear ideas”, he said a few years ago.
Grimau, 44 years old, has been the coach of Barça Atlètic and the juniors for the last two seasons (2021-23), where he has had Víctor Sada as his assistant. The former Badaloní game director will also accompany him in this new stage in the first team. Previously, from 2018 to 2021, he was the assistant coach of the second team in LEB Or and LEB Plata. As a player he defended the Barça shirt for eight seasons (2003-2011) and was the captain who lifted the Euroleague in 2010.
Joan Carles Navarro, general manager of the section, took for granted the continuity of Jasikevicius a few days ago: “The Saras contract ends right now and we want him to be our coach. We need to make some tweaks. And if the project is good, we will communicate it and I don’t think there will be any problem for it to continue next year.” “Jasikevicius is the best coach in the world”, certified Laporta, who is specializing in unexpected script turns.
The club believes that Grimau can be the ideal coach to give prominence to the youth players. Young values such as Dame Sarr and Kasparas Jakucionis have made their debut this season with the first team, while others who have passed through their hands such as James Nnaji – recently chosen number 31 in the NBA draft -, Rafa Villar, Michael Caicedo , Agus Ubal or Gael Bonilla have also enjoyed minutes with the Blaugrana first team.
Ten minutes from the Palace
“When they fell in love, Antonio Grimau and Anna Gragera could not imagine that the three children they would have would make a living as basketball professionals. From a very young age, our parents accompanied us to all the matches every weekend. We lived in the Sants neighborhood, ten minutes from the Palau Blaugrana. At our house we ate Barça for lunch and dinner, as we went to see Norris, Epi and Solozábal’s games with the family. For Roger, being captain was like a dream”, analyzes Sergi Grimau, Roger’s brother. “Father used to take us to the Palace. I also remember that he rode a motorbike to the Camp Nou like any other player. I am no different from the rest of the young people”, confirms the new Barça coach.
Another striker, Sarunas Jasikevicius, leaves the bench with a total of 268 matches between Endesa League (131), Euroleague (118), Copa del Rey (7), Supercopa (6) and Catalan League (6). Out of 268 matches, they have won on 204 occasions (108 ACB, 82 Euroleague, 6 Cup, 3 Supercopa, 4 Catalan League), while they have been defeated on 64 occasions (23 ACB, 36 Euroleague, 1 Cup, 3 Supercopa and 2 Catalan League).
Tomas Masiulis will not remain in the coaching staff of Barça, where the rest of the members are still not clear how the situation will be reorganized.
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