CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls prospect Martynas Andriuskevicius, knocked unconscious during a practice fight Dec. 21 while playing for the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, is slowly recovering but his future remains in doubt.
Storey
Andriuskevicius
"I've heard a lot of things [from doctors]," Andriuskevicius was quoted as saying in the Chicago Tribune. "They say I'm not going to play at all. Then they say I'm not going to play this year. Then they say I'm not going to speak for two months. But everything is changing. I hope in two months I'll be back playing basketball."
Andriuskevicius was injured in a fight with Awvee Storey. Storey was suspended indefinitely and replaced on the roster after reportedly punching Andriuskevicius in the head. Storey is 6-6; the 20-year-old Andriuskevicius is 7-2. The NBA and D-League are investigating.
"It was a heated situation," Andriuskevicius said, according to the Tribune. "We were playing basketball. I didn't say anything bad, but we were talking. I turned my head and I didn't expect a punch. He hit me. That's how it happened. But everything is better now. I'm just waiting to come back to basketball."
Andriuskevicius said that he isn't going to press charges against Storey.
"It's not going to help me anyway," Andriuskevicius said, according to the Tribune. "God is going to take care of it."
Andriuskevicius' recovery is still up in the air. "I just started to speak three days ago," Andriuskevicius said, according to the Tribune. "And I'm still speaking badly. I'm about 80 percent right now. I wasn't able to talk for a while. But now I feel a lot better. My headache is gone. I'm not taking medicine anymore. My hearing is just off."
"He's still having difficult moments," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said, according to the Tribune. "But he's getting better. We just want to be around him a little bit. He's a great guy."
"He's such a good guy to be around," guard Ben Gordon said after Andriuskevicius showed up at the Bulls' training center on Monday. "He's a big kid, a likable guy. Everybody was saddened by what happened to him. It made everybody's day to see him."
Herb Rudoy, Andriuskevicius' agent, said legal action remains a possibility.
"We're monitoring his recovery," Rudoy said, according to the Tribune. "All I can say is we haven't ruled out anything."