OKC Thunder: 5 dark horse head coach candidates

Sarunas Jasikevicius – Euroleague master

Back when Masai Ujiri was looking to hire Dwane Casey’s replacement two names topped his list. The leading candidate was the man who got the job – – Nick Nurse. But the other seldom heard, or known name was Sarunas Jasikevicius.

Although Jasikevicius moved to Europe to coach he spent time as a player in the NBA between 2005 and 2007. For a season and a half or 112 games, he played for the Pacers and his final 26 games were spent with the Warriors.

From 2016 until this past summer Jasikevicius was the head coach of the Lithuanian team – Zalgiris Kaunas. In 2018 the team was part of the EuroLeague Final Four, finishing in third place.

With his services highly coveted he elected to join the prestigious FC Barcelona as their head coach. While it would seem Jasikevicius is off the table, the fact Ujrii was so covetous of his services speaks to his ability especially considering rumor was the only other coach who Ujiri seriously considered hiring aside from Nurse was Jasikevicius.

That’s high praise and if the rumors regarding Weaver turn out incorrect, then Presti should take a pause to consider at least having a conversation with the Euroleague coaching master.