The Raptors expressed interest in Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius during their ongoing search for a new lead coach, Marc Stein reports at Substack.
As Stein notes, Toronto actually interviewed Jasikevicius for the position in 2018 as well, prior to the team promoting then-assistant Nick Nurse. Jasikevicius was reportedly a finalist at that time. Nurse was dismissed after the 2022/23 season concluded and was recently hired by Philadelphia.
It’s unclear if Jasikevicius, a former EuroLeague legend and NBA guard with the Pacers and Warriors, advanced that far this time around, Stein writes. The Raptors have been quite secretive about their process, much as they were during the lead-up to the trade deadline.
The Grizzlies also expressed interest in Jasikevicius in 2019 prior to hiring Taylor Jenkins to be their head coach.
Jasikevicius, 47, coached Lithuanian side Zalgris for four seasons prior to becoming Barca’s head coach in 2020.