On the paper I wouldn't write what I allow my self to write here. Here we can be politically incorrect from time to time, specially when it comes to player's abilities. It's not direct personal insults, we just discuss games. In a fashion of American culture, you can call a player trash, or goat. That's common practice.
Well, it's me. I hate that kind of players. Milaknis defence is trash. Saras is a freak of staggers so he liked him, but I hate this stagnant offense of staggers. Sure, use them from time to time, but this is outdated basketball. Milaknis could only survive when all the team is working for his shot attempt, and works heavily often all possession long just to take a shot off. In many games Milaknis would be empty, then deliver something. To me that kind of player is too one dimensional. There is a reason why he never ever got a job in EL outside Zalgiris...Elite EL shooter...
Today basketball is about pace and space, about more natural ways ti split the D, to move the ball. Efes showed it very clearly. Such teams as Warriors, Kings are showing it very clearly. That's the best offense. Even current Zalgiris with Evans was playing pretty open and effective BB. And today it's the best when Taylor and Brazdeikis are being aggressive. Basketball with obsessive staggers is yesterday. Every player should be able to put the ball on the floor, to pass, to make decisions, to be 2-3 dimensions scorers. Butkevicius and specially Lukosiunas look like ball stoppers, and so are Hayes and Birutis. Kings offense is so super smooth cause there's no single ball stopper in the line-up and actually most creativity comes form position 5. All players around Sabonis are 3 ways scorers. Something like that was in Maccabi with Saras with Nikola Vujcic (probably the best EL offensive team ever), something like that was in Efes with Pleis at 5.
This idea that Zalgiris still needs "a shooter" who can do only one thing on the court is really outdated...I hope we won't see this breed in NT ever again cause Gecevicius, Milaknis were trash in the NT.
Lithuania is in good hands with Sabonis and and later Tubelis at 5. Those are not ball stoppers, good passers, they play great within the flow, they themselves are nearly 3 dimensional offensive threat. At this point NT is safe, and we will be playing contemporary basketball. It's JV and lack of more talent in perimeter that were holding us back, but both issues very likely will be solved in next 2-4 years.