2010/2011 LKL Signings and Rumours

[straight forward]

New signings of LKL should go here (rumours as well).

Šiauliai signed Darius Gvezdauskas.

[Sagenas]

It's old news, but Perlas few months ago signed Laurynas Samė—nas. Point guard played in Šiauliai and then later in Vilnius Sakalai.

[ZEUS]

Rumours are about that Jasikevicius may be going back to Maccabi next season?

Any references/views about this in Lithuanian basketbll media?

[TalkBasket]

Rumours are about that Jasikevicius may be going back to Maccabi next season?

Any references/views about this in Lithuanian basketbll media?

Saras is not LKL player and he won't play in this league ever (?). So not to go far off-topic here, I could only say that probably majority of people think that he could still play some quality basketball in Tel Aviv.

[ZEUS]

Yeah sorry I realized my mistake, I didn't realize the LKL was the Lithuanian league

I posted it in the Euroleague section, my bad

[skangles]

What are the team budgets looking like this season, any idea? I'm mostly asking about Zalgiris & Rytas but if you have information on any of ther other teams it would also be interesting. A few years back I think that both Rytas and Zalgiris had budgets of around 5 million euros if I remember correctly.

[TalkBasket]

What are the team budgets looking like this season, any idea? I'm mostly asking about Zalgiris & Rytas but if you have information on any of ther other teams it would also be interesting. A few years back I think that both Rytas and Zalgiris had budgets of around 5 million euros if I remember correctly.

Those were the good times financially for both teams. According to some sites, Žalgiris had a budget of around €5M last season as well. It is said that they will have even bigger budget next season, probably around €6M.

Rytas had significantly lower budget this season. No exact numbers appeared in the media but according to Rytas GM it was around €2M (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong). Their budget will be bigger next season too. Again, it's hard to say exact numbers. Maybe €4M?

[straight forward]

Some rumours say Žalgiris interested in B. Zoubek (Duke), P. Jankūnas (Khimki) and M. Katelynas. Seems like Katelynas is a done deal because his ex club (Alikante) confirmed he's backing to homeland. Since Rytas roster is already complete, it has to be Žalgiris.

[Black Urum]

Wow, Jankunas' comeback could be a major boost to Zalgiris.

[Sagenas]

Few days ago Perlas Vilnius made 1+1 year deal with coach Nerijus Zabarauskas and 3 years deal with shooting guard Lengvinas who played in NKL last season (40 percentage 3-pointers).

[TalkBasket]

Few days ago Perlas Vilnius made 1+1 year deal with coach Nerijus Zabarauskas and 3 years deal with shooting guard Lengvinas who played in NKL last season (40 percentage 3-pointers).

It seems that Zabarauskas will not be the head coach. Krepsinis.net reports that Croatian coach Ivan Sunara will take that position. Perlas have high goals for next season obviously. Maybe they hope to be among top 4 in LKL and play in Eurocup? That is probably too much for them though considering their budget. It's obvious that Sunara was signed to get the most out of the young Perlas squad. Maybe he was signed as a potential replacement for Anzulovic?

[LastMan]

Siauliai signed Edvinas Ruzgas

[TalkBasket]

Claudio Sabatini, the owner of Virtus Bologna, wants to buy a team in Lithuania. The team would be used to develop young players from the Baltic States and when they are ready, they will be signed by Virtus. The goal is to buy a team in LKL, if that doesn't work then it will be a team from NKL (second division).

If the managers of the team which will be approached by Virtus are not idiots they could use this opportunity to get a better team. Of course we know only what I posted above which is very little. There is no info about how much the Italians would spend on the new team and will they try to push the team to play in Europe etc. Also, what would be the goals of the team. Will they just play to develop or will they aim for certain position.

If they really want to gather some of the top prospects in one team then it means that such team could easily be among top 4 in LKL.

My feeling is that this whole story will end at this point.

[Black Urum]

If the entire Lithuanian basketball school will let an Italian mafiozo come and take all the local talents I don't know what to say...

[TalkBasket]

If the entire Lithuanian basketball school will let an Italian mafiozo come and take all the local talents I don't know what to say...

I doubt that would be the case. First of all, the top prospects will be taken by Rytas and Žalgiris and maybe Šiauliai if they can offer a good contract.

Many players that are considered promising at young age don't get the chance to play at higher level (LKL) or they spend most of the time on the bench. So if that means that there will be a team which will be investing in them then it's already a good sign.

Italians hope to take the best players to Virtus Bologna, though isn't there a foreign players limit in Serie A? How many players they could "steal"? Is it better for those players to warm benches in the top LKL clubs or move to a stronger league and get playing time?

In the end, it's money that matters these days the most. If other clubs can offer better contracts the players will move there.

But I don't want to make any conclusions before we know more details because now it's pure speculation.

[Sagenas]

New information says that he don't want to buy a club but want to make a partnership with it. Some rumors say that team may be Sakalai (they gathered many young players right now for coming season). I think that's a good thing ;]]] Our best talents will be held by Lietuvos Rytas, Žalgiris and Šiauliai. Other guys would have chance to play in strong Italy league, so it may "develop" more good players.

By the way, what do you think about that Sakalai may move from Vilnius to Šakiai? I don't like that thing, do players know where they're going to play?

[TalkBasket]

By the way, what do you think about that Sakalai may move from Vilnius to Šakiai? I don't like that thing, do players know where they're going to play?

The management of Sakalai could do a better job in first place. Having a team in capital should open many opportunities to find sponsors. Sakalai could at least be at the same level as Juventus was last season. Who is to blame that they don't even have a place to play in LKL? It isn't like it wasn't possible to see this coming knowing the condition of their current home court. The move to Šakiai might be a wake up call or maybe they will find a poor temporary solution and continue running the club like they did in the past.

The clubs in Lithuania have the attitude "no one gives us money" but it should be "what we can do to get more money?".

Ivan Sunara officially announced as the new head coach Perlas.

[Sagenas]

Oh yeah, Sunara will be coach of Perlas Vilnius. I believe next season they will try to win 3rd place in LKL and play in EuroCup. That's great.

The management of Sakalai could do a better job in first place. Having a team in capital should open many opportunities to find sponsors. Sakalai could at least be at the same level as Juventus was last season. Who is to blame that they don't even have a place to play in LKL? It isn't like it wasn't possible to see this coming knowing the condition of their current home court. The move to Šakiai might be a wake up call or maybe they will find a poor temporary solution and continue running the club like they did in the past.

The clubs in Lithuania have the attitude "no one gives us money" but it should be "what we can do to get more money?".

Ivan Sunara officially announced as the new head coach Perlas.

Well, I think in Šakiai may be more attention to team, everyone could watch games while in Vilnius there's ~50 spectators per game.

[skangles]

Did Sakalai get any money when Sinica moved over to Rytas or did Rytas sign him on a free transfer?

[Sagenas]

Did Sakalai get any money when Sinica moved over to Rytas or did Rytas sign him on a free transfer?

Someone, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was free transfer and as some time ago was said: "Sinica got there too fast and ruined his carreer because of money", so Sakalai felt about that because their best player went to other team.