Jonas Valanciunas will miss the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Lithuania due to his status as an NBA free agent this offseason. Lithuanian Basketball Federation general secretary Mindaugas Balciunas announced the decision on Sunday.
“Jonas really wants to play for the national team and the insurance situation isn’t a problem. The condition that we can’t meet is irrelevant to these two factors. Jonas must be healthy at the beginning of July when signing a contract. No one can guarantee that,” Balciunas said.
Valanciunas recognizes it isn’t an ideal situation, but knows he has to get his NBA affairs in order before he can return to national team duty.
“Unfortunately, this situation happened for the first time in my life – not being able to be a national team player,” said Valanciunas. “I’m definitely with the team, my spirit, my advice. I will be together. I will practice, I will prepare, I believe that I will prepare for Paris, the Olympics. I will help in any way I can. I hope Lithuania understands me and we’ll do what we’ll do in Paris.”
While Valanciunas sorts out his unrestricted free agency, Lithuania will be playing in the Puerto Rico Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Lithuania will face Mexico and Ivory Coast in the group stage. The winner of Group A will face the Winner of Group B, which includes Puerto Rico, Italy and Bahrain, for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics later in the summer.