By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Kaunas-born small forward Ignas Brazdeikis is heading to his hometown Zalgiris.
Brazdeikis, 23, was an NBA draft pick in 2017, selected 47th overall by the Sacramento Kings. Five years later, his options lead him back across the Atlantic Ocean and to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Attracting the interest of EuroLeague participants, he reached an agreement with the Kaunas outfit, as reported by Rokas Pakenas of Lithuanian outlet 15min.
After representing Canada at the junior level, he recently debuted with the Lithuania senior national team playing in the last batch of games for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. In international duties, he has been working under the national team selector Kazys Maksvytis, who is also the head coach of Zalgiris. Averaging 14.5 points per contest over two appearances shaped his summer efforts so far. Lithuania is slated for more Qualifiers action in late August and the 2022 EuroBasket in September, thus can produce additional caps for Brazdeikis.
The former Michigan standout appeared in 64 NBA games between the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Orlando Magic since the 2019-20 season. He averaged 5.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks per contest. More experience came from the Westchester Knicks and Lakeland Magic in G League assignments.
Reinforced by the arrivals of Laurynas Birutis, Arnas Butkevicius, Keenan Evans, and Rolands Smits, Zalgiris will attempt to tackle EuroLeague and domestic competition in 2022-23. Tyler Cavanaugh, Tomas Dimsa, Mantas Kalnietis, Joffrey Lauvergne, Lukas Lekavicius, Karolis Lukosiunas, and Edgaras Ulanovas are currently projected to link the 2021-22 and 2022-23 squads.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL