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Mantas Kalnietis could return to his native Zalgiris next season in case he doesn’t agree with the Indiana Pacers.
A shoulder injury suffered in Lithuanian national team’s warm-up game against Croatia kept Kalnietis out of action for the most part of this season.
His brief return to the court ended due to knee pain and eventually a surgery. The recovery process is smooth so far. Kalnietis has recently started playing contact basketball.
Despite misfortunes of this season Kalnietis is prepared to try and make a move to the NBA. At 28 he feels ready.
It was reported previously that several NBA teams are showing interest in Lithuanian point guard. Indiana Pacers want to get a closer look at Kalnietis this summer.
“The Pacers wanted to see me before but it didn’t happen due to certain circumstances. They like my style of play and now they want to check if after all these years I can still do something and whether I can play at the same level that I played before.
“I will take part in the opening tournaments of the NBA Summer League as well as the camp in Orlando. We’ll see how it goes from there”, Kalnietis shares his plan for the summer.
Kalnietis has already secured a deal with Zalgiris in case he can’t get a deal in the NBA with the Pacers Kalnietis.
“I have already agreed with the management of Zalgiris that I won’t be looking for another team in Europe and would become a member of Zalgiris again.”
According to some reports, Zalgiris is also checking the options to bring Linas Kleiza from Milan for the coming season.
