The champion looks to a new cycle: goodbye to Mirotic, doubts about Jasikevicius and budget cut

Part consolation and part end of an era. That is what the ACB League title that Barcelona was able to win, finally on the fast track, against Chus Mateo's Real Madrid means.. The already announced goodbye to Nikola Mirotic is just the tip of the iceberg in a Barcelona basketball section that, once again, will face cuts. If possible, much more serious than before. With a view to the coming course, the budget could be reduced by 10 million euros compared to the around 44 million that it has been counting on throughout the campaign that has now ended. It's time to tighten the belt again. Above all, seeing that the expense has not translated into a more than highly desired third Euroleague.

For now, Mirotic has become the first victim of this new policy in the basketball section of Barça. As the Hispanic Montenegrin player himself stressed last week, as soon as it was learned that the club did not count on him for next season, they had not even raised the possibility of lowering his salary.. An option to which, as he slipped, he would have been more than willing. Yours, perhaps, will be the most popular output. But not the only one. For now, there are two players whose contract ends on June 30 and who do not seem to be exactly on the priority list: Sertac Sanli and Kyle Kuric.

The first has not finished setting a satisfactory performance in the paint, while the second has been gradually disappearing from the plans of a Sarunas Jasikevicius who is also on the tightrope. Mike Tobey, for his part, is also ending his contract, but the departure of Mirotic, and his relatively affordable record, can play in his favor to continue.

The coach's doubt

As for Jasikevicius, if the Lithuanian wants to continue directing the destinies of Barca basketball from the bench, he will have to tighten his belt. Unfortunately, the third consecutive failure in Europe is a very heavy burden. Very especially, if one takes into account that both this year and last year it was Real Madrid, in the semifinals, the team that cut him off. In 2022, the team then led by Pablo Laso fell 1-0 against Anadolu Efes (57-58). In the last edition, on the other hand, with Chus Mateo on the bench, they beat Olympiacos, also by the minimum (78-79)..

If the coach finally packs his bags, his compatriot Rokas Jokubaitis, who is very seduced by the idea of trying his luck in the NBA, could try to make the leap this year to some Knicks who would be delighted to have his services, after choosing him , with the 34th overall pick, in the 2021 draft.

The departure of the Lithuanian point guard, in this case, could be covered by Leandro Bolmaro whose journey through the NBA has not been as brilliant as he expected. In fact, at the beginning of this same year there was already speculation about the possibility of him returning to the Palau Blaugrana, but the circumstances did not quite line up satisfactorily and he ended up signing with Tenerife. Presumably, until the end of this season, although the player himself has already publicly assured that he does not rule out continuing to defend the colors of the Canarian team for longer.

With such a complicated panorama that the section has at an economic level, the Argentine's could be the only addition to the team with a view to this summer. As long as James Nnaji doesn't decide to try his luck in the United States. In that case, the arrival of some reinforcement for the painting would be little less than essential.