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EXCLUSIVE: Sabonis Unlikely to Return

By Ron Pivo and Abe Estimada | KGW Staff | June 19, 2001, 07:30 AM

The Blazers may not be just looking for a new coach. They may be on the market for a center, too.

Sources told KGW that Arvydas Sabonis is highly unlikely to return next season. Sabonis’ wife, Ingrida Sabonis, confirmed that Monday, admitting the couple is moving back to Lithuania.

They won’t sell their home yet, though, in case there is a slight chance the seven-foot center will return. Sources also told KGW that Sabonis has grown tired of the current team.

Last season, power forward Rasheed Wallace threw a towel at Sabonis during a timeout in a nationally-televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Wallace was angry after Sabonis accidentally hit him in the face.

Sabonis Lashes Out at Blazers

Shortly after the season ended, Sabonis had harsh words for his teammates and said former coach Mike Dunleavy should have been fired much earlier for failing to control his players.

"There aren't players on the Portland team, just names earning millions," Sabonis said earlier while visiting his hometown.

Dunleavy was fired after the Blazers were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. Suspensions, injuries and internal bickering plagued the team, which lost 17 of its last 25 games despite an NBA-record payroll of $89.7 million.

Sabonis said Dunleavy didn't "bring the team's stars down to planet Earth, and should have been fired midseason."

Five Blazers made at least $11.2 million last season, including Sabonis, who earned $11.25 million in the last year of a three-year contract. The 7-foot-3 center averaged 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, but missed 16 games because of various injuries.

The language barrier also was a persistent problem, and Sabonis struggled to understand what his teammates and Dunleavy wanted from him. In one game, Sabonis shouted to the bench, "I've got five people telling me different things!"

Sabonis didn't exclude the possibility that he might end his career playing for Lithuania's Zalgiris Kaunas, a top team in Europe and one that Sabonis partly owns.

"Someday I might play with them, if they'll take me," he said, joking.

Sabonis' Prime

Sabonis, who turns 37 in December, might be the greatest player to ever come out of the former Soviet Union. He was drafted by the Blazers in 1986 but stayed in Europe to play professionally. He helped the Soviet Union win the gold medal in the 1988 Olympics, and led Lithuania to bronze medals in 1992 and 1996.

Although he was past his prime when he made his debut with the Blazers in 1995, Sabonis has played well the past six seasons. He's averaged 13 points and 7.9 rebounds, and is regarded as one of the best-passing big men in the game.

(The AP contributed background to this report)

Thanks to Sabonisnut for the heads up!

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