FanHouse Sarunas Jasikevicius

As seen on Ball In Europe, that's Sarunas Jasikevicius arriving in Athens earlier this week. He probably could have found another NBA job after having his contract bought out by Golden State, but why would he want to? Do you think he would have received this kind of hero's welcome were he to sign with any other team in the states? Sometimes making NBA money just isn't worth riding the pine and living in obscurity, not when you're a living legend in your home country. Maybe Jasikevicius returns to the NBA someday, maybe he doesn't, but from the looks of things he's going to live a very comfortable and happy life either way.

(Also, I know that Jasikevicius is Lithuanian and not Greek, but those are Greek fans cheering his return...)

(chest-bump The Basketball Jones)

First, Charlie Bell nearly went overseas. An American opting for Europe over the NBA would've been a real eye-opener. Then, Andrei Kirilenko suggests that he'd be willing to give up millions to play in front of his people year-round.

You can add one definite, and one maybe, to this growing list. SPORT (translated by Hoops Hype) tells us that dispelled Warrior and singing hero Sarunas Jasikevicius is headed to Panathinaikos, reigning champs of the Euroleague. He'll get about $9.8 mill for two years, plus some money to help with the buyout. Jasikevicius's arrival in the NBA was supposed to be a big deal. But he never really found a niche, and certainly never got a chance to matter like he does internationally.

And Sasha Pavlovic, who may or may not be key to the Cavs' future, is at very least using Europe as leverage in his contract talks. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the two parties are nowhere close to agreeing on a figure; as a restricted free agent, Pavlovic has to go back for at least one season unless he heads for another league.

Jasikevicius is the poster child for this movement, since his NBA salary was relatively low and his contract would be high by European standards. Pavlovic has much more in common with Kirilenko; as famous as AK-47 is, no non-NBA team could ever afford to pay him a max-type deal. Pavlovic, on other hand, simply benefits from inflation. He'd be good in Europe, probably, but "good" over there just don't pay like it does here. That's why, in the end, both those guys will probably find a way to suck it up and play in the NBA in 2007-08.

I don't know nearly as much about international ball as some of my colleagues; I had to get Ziller to tell me that this is from Lithuania's 2003 EuroBasket title. But I do recognize Sarunas Jasikevicius, and I know American Idol-caliber talent when I see it. He doesn't just sing with all his might--he connects with the audience, mugs for the camera, and just generally makes you want to fly. Maybe he and the Warriors couldn't see eye-to-eye on basketball, but they could've used him as their resident troubadour.

In other news, this is why Dick Vitale was so wary of Euros. They do stuff like this, or jock David Hasselhoff. They will never belong in this league, even once they take the whole thing over and all our stars are playing in Italy.

Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius -- one of those players who's an MVP in Europe but for some reason can't escape the bench in the NBA -- tells ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan he doesn't understand the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs, he says, have had a variety of opportunities to trade Saras to various teams with various types of return packages offered. They haven't bitten.

Don't worry, Saras: You understand the Warriors perfectly.

This is what they do. They make things harder for themselves. There is no easy summer for Golden State. Look, they just ran rampant through a 68-win team in the playoffs, which followed a tremendous second half of the season. Only two roleplayers were on the free agent market. It should have been an easy summer -- you re-sign one of said roleplayers, you pick a frontcourt player with your late-teens draft choice, you get ready for 2007-08.

Instead... they traded their best scorer for a kid who may not play 500 minutes this year, spurned the straw whom stirs the drink (err, Don Nelson) by refusing a nominal pay raise, haven't made an effort to extend Monta Ellis' contract, have ignored Baron Davis' claims to an extension and generally pissed off the fanbase. You don't understand Golden State, Saras? No, you understand them just fine. This is who they are, this is what they do. I'd be worried if the franchise had an effective summer where nothing went wrong.

Well, besides the second round of Eurobasket. (I always forget how good Lithuania is. If that team were an NBA team, it might be my favorite. That's mostly because of Linas Kleiza.) Anyway, Sarunas Jasikevicius -- one of the best guards in Europe, yet a fellow who has been criminally underused in both his NBA stops -- is reportedly looking to get on with a top-flight European club. Roughly 207 teams have been rumored as the favorite... yet very little has been said about Saras' existing contract with Golden State. (The Bay Area media has been understandably pre-occupied.)

I have no personal doubt Chris Mullin could find an NBA home for Jasikevicius. Boston, if Wyc Grousbeck is willing to spend the luxury tax associated with Saras' $4 million contract, would be an easy guess. Teams like Cleveland, Miami, even Milwaukee or Orlando should be willing to hand Saras a spot for a season. Hell, he's an expiring contract... Sacramento, anyone? I can count the teams who have no use for an average-at-worst point guard on one hand.

But the real interest for Jasikevicius, like Charlie Bell before him, lays in familiar Europe. Barcelona has been mentioned (but seems to be going after Bell), and Olympiacos is also heavily rumored. I haven't seen a word about Maccabi Tel Aviv, Saras' pre-NBA club... but that pairing wouldn't make terrible sense since you'd think Saras would want to go somewhere with a legit chance to win another Euroleague MVP.

When Warriors guard Sarunas Jasikevicius first came to the NBA, he was supposed to be a difference-maker. A tough-as-nails point guard with a deft shooting touch and proven winner's pedigree. All that might have been true overseas, but it never translated into this league. Jasikevicius never wrestled the Pacers' starting PG spot away from Tinsley, and then ended up on the Warriors bench as part of THAT TRADE.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the very frustrated Sarunas might opt out of his contract and flee the NBA. A while back, he vented to international reporters. Now, according to The Boston Globe, his former basketball home seems like much greener pastures:

Jasikevicius simply has not enjoyed the spectacular success he had in Israel, where he was treated like a rock star, married a former Miss Israel, and won a couple of Euroleague titles for Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Prior to that, he was a star in Spain. A Spanish news outlet had Real Madrid trying to lure both Jasikevicius and Fabrico Oberto from the NBA, perhaps in anticipation of hosting next year's European Final Four.

Worth thinking about with the draft on the horizon. Yeah, some international players have hit it big. But there have also been grave disappointments. When someone like Tiago Splitter enters and withdraws every year, or it takes players like Oberto forever to show up here, you've got the wonder: how badly do international guys want to be in the NBA?

Back in the day, international players-–we called them "Euros"--were supposed to be all sweetness and light for the league. They knew their fundamentals, didn't talk back, and were just glad to be away from all the ethnic cleansing. If the NBA was going to hell, these guys were going to save its honor.

Few of these players were as prized as Sarunas Jasikevicius. The hard-nosed, sharpshooting Lithuanian point guard was pursued by nearly every team in the league, before finally deciding to sign with the Pacers in 2005. He was expected to immediately make an impact, and possibly change the culture of that team.

Fast forward to today, where Jasikevicius is stuck on the Warriors bench and sulking about his role. He did a long interview with Mundo Deportivo that voices his discontent. I'm relying on the translation of some choice quote on Hoops Hype:

"I wanted to play in the NBA, I had to try. But I made a bad decision. It was a big mistake to sign with the Pacers."

"I have a good relationship with Don Nelson but he has the star, Baron Davis, and the future starting point guard, Monta Ellis. I understand that. What I don't understand is why they didn't trade me when they could."

Now it's possible this isn't meant to be as harsh as it sounds; I'm not sure how to take "I'm not happy. If I was, I would have to retire." Don't forget about that time Pau Gasol supposedly spit on Memphis in foreign language interview. But the important thing here is that the Cabbage Man is pissed. And not making a secret of it. This may be standard-issue NBA behavior, but aren't these imported dudes supposed to be above it? Aren't they?