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Lithuania’s Sarunas Jasikevicius, considered one of the EuroLeague’s most promising head coaches, reportedly is drawing interest from the Memphis Grizzlies.
ESPN cited league sources saying the Grizzlies soon plan to meet with Jasikevicius as they search for a candidate to replace fired coach JB Bickerstaff.
League sources also said the coaching search conducted by Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies’ executive vice president of basketball operations, is still in its early stages.
Bickerstaff was promoted to interim head coach in November 2017, then given the job permanently in May 2018.
The team went 15-48 under Bickerstaff in 2017-18 and 33-49 this season.
Jasikevicius, 43, known for his ability to help Lithuanian teams overachieve, interviewed for the head coaching position with the Toronto Raptors last year.
He has coached the past three seasons with Zalgiris, who made a run to the EuroLeague Final Four in 2018 before losing in the quarter-finals this year.
Following his team’s elimination, Jasikevicius expressed a strong desire to return next season, saying in a post-game news conference, “You will have to kick me out from here with two legs unless something miraculous happens.”
Of course, a head coaching job in the NBA might qualify as “miraculous” for a former point guard who excelled in EuroLeague competition and also had a chance to compete with the Indiana Pacers (2005-07) and Golden State Warriors (2007).
In 138 NBA games, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds a game.
An undrafted player out of Maryland, Jasikevicius played for the Terrapins from 1994-98.
