Due to the NBA lockout, for the 2012 season, the team signed Sonny Weems and former Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson. The team also re-signed long time fan-favorite Marko Popović. The team also signed longtime Lietuvos Rytas player and former Lithuanian National team captain Robertas Javtokas as center. However, the season started very poorly for Žalgiris. Hoping to end the slump, Romanov fired coach Ilias Zouros and replaced him with former Lietuvos Rytas head coach Aleksandar Trifunović. Despite initial improvement, with the team finishing the EuroLeague regular season with a 4–6 record and a trip to the Top 16, the slump continued in the Top 16, with the team ending the EuroLeague season with 0–6 record. After Ty Lawson left the team, Mantas Kalnietis became a true leader for Žalgiris, and played his perhaps best season. The team slowly recovered, winning the LKF Cup. After being eliminated in the VTB playoffs, Žalgiris made the BBL Final Four, winning against Lietuvos Rytas in the finals despite losing leader Sonny Weems (who was released due to injury) and DeJuan Collins (who was released due to failing a drug test). With very solid play from Marko Popovič and Tomas Delininkaitis, Žalgiris retained the LKL title, defeating Lietuvos Rytas in the finals 4–1. The club had achieved a second consecutive 'triple crown' of Lithuanian League, Lithuanian Cup and Baltic Cup.