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Jonas Valanciunas remains noncommittal on his future
Launching preparations for the EuroBasket 2025 with the senior national team of Lithuania, Jonas Valanciunas showed up on the opening day of training camp. “Let’s talk about the national team,” he responded to an initial question about being traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, amid strong interest from Panathinaikos Aktor.
Head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis and the Lithuanian Basketball Federation revealed the selections for the EuroBasket 2025 on Friday. Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings is focusing on his wife expecting a kid during the offseason and was officially ruled out. Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls is also out, as well as Kasparas Jakucionis of the Miami Heat.
Marc Stein: Former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson has been named as a special adviser to Slovenia's national team ... reuniting him with Luka Dončić. Nelson has a long history in the international game working with Lithuania’s national team.
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Sacramento Kings center Jonas Valanciunas is currently back home in Lithuania, hosting his annual basketball camp. While there, he answered questions about his future, especially after expressing interest in a potential return to the EuroLeague. "I can make my own plans, but what the Kings decide is what matters most," Valanciunas told Lithuanian media. "Right now, I'm planning to stay. I haven't heard anything about being traded or moved. Until there is such information, all my focus is on Sacramento."
Now 33, Valanciunas is beginning to look ahead to the final chapter of his playing career. So, where does he see himself finishing? "I love Lithuania, so why not end my career here?" he said. Valanciunas hails from Utena, a city of about 25,000 people in northeastern Lithuania. Naturally, his plan includes playing for his hometown club at the very end of his career. "Juventus Utena," he specified, referring to the team that competes in Lithuania's top-tier league.
The EuroBasket 2025 resurfaces Finland as the host of Group B in Tampere. Looking to clinch a berth in the Round of 16, Finland will face Sweden, Great Britain, Montenegro, Lithuania, and Germany from August 27 to September 3. “It was packed house every night, a lot of fun and really competitive games,” the Vantaa native recalled the 2017 tournament between the top European national teams, “I’m looking forward to build on that. I think we have a really good team. Hopefully, we can create some buzz and kind of make a big run.”
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Matas Buzelis sounds like he could pass on the Eurobasket
An altered approach by Matas Buzelis on the way to the senior national team of Lithuania and EuroBasket 2025. “I will definitely play for the Lithuanian national team, but I don’t know when,” he answered a question by Lithuanian outlet DELFI during a postgame media session following a winning effort against the Philadelphia 76ers in Wells Fargo Center to wrap up the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season on NBA Sundays. “I’m not sure that I will come this summer. We have problems with the coaches,” he referred to controversial comments by an assistant coach of the senior national team, Tomas Pacesas, stirring the pot for NBA players being among options for selector Rimas Kurtinaitis, “I have to talk to Jonas [Valanciunas], Domantas [Sabonis] and see what they will do.”
Lithuanian national team GM Linas Kleiza met with all three Lithuanian NBA players: captain Jonas Valanciunas, Domantas Sabonis and Matas Buzelis. During conversations, Kleiza wondered if he had made a mistake by not going to the United States earlier to meet the country's stars. "Maybe I should have told Jonas (Valanciunas) and Domantas (Sabonis) earlier how important they were. It seemed to me that it was obvious that this team was theirs. Maybe that was my mistake," Kleiza admitted on the show 'Kleiza vs Tiskevicius.' "At the beginning of the season, the players don't want to talk about the national team, so the trip was left for later, it's a shame that it was against such a background. I think that as much as possible, positive steps were taken."
Domantas Sabonis will not play 2025 Eurobasket
The Lithuania national team and Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis is expected to miss the upcoming EuroBasket 2025 tournament, according to BasketNews sources. According to BasketNews sources, Sabonis won't represent his country due to personal reasons.
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