By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Khimki Moscow head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis believes that coaches don’t play a significant part in the NBA.
“That’s a big question because in the NBA the coaching factor decides almost nothing,” Kurtinaitis said after being asked about Sarunas Jasikevicius’ possibilities of a successful head coaching stint in the NBA, in an interview with VTB League.
Kurtinaitis never played in the NBA but competed in the 3-point contest of the 1989 All-Star Weekend. To this day, he remains the only non-NBAer to participate in the All-Star event.
“It’s a different style there, Kurtinaitis said. “The league rules are all intended to help a player excel individually. If you have players on your roster who know how to play 1-on-1 at a high level, then you can depend on success. European strategies won’t work there.
We have David Blatt’s example, of course. He did a great job in Cleveland, but the club still wasn’t satisfied for some reason. Probably because he tried to enforce discipline on the team. How do you enforce the rules with these millionaires in the NBA anyway?
I don’t think Sarunas Jasikevicius needs to jump into a head coaching job in the NBA right away. He’s a very talented, smart, promising coach, but first he should test the water and gain some experience in American basketball.”
Kurtinaitis was also asked to give his EuroLeague Final Four predictions.
“If I knew, I’d tell you. I think that if Fenerbahce brings a full roster to Vitoria, they will be the primary favorites. On the other hand, Real will be playing in front of its fans, CSKA is on a roll in recent games and Anadolu Efes is the biggest dark horse of the season.”