“With the 5th Pick in the 2011 NBA Draft the Toronto Raptors select Jonas Valanciunas...”
Mere seconds after NBA Commissioner David Stern uttered those words I took to twitter and was not surprised at the reaction of my fellow Raptors fans. The subsequent tweets that followed from Raptors fans were very much calling for Raptors general manager, Bryan Colangelo, to trade the pick to get Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker or Kawhi Leonard depending on who Raptors fans wanted but one thing was certain: no one wanted Valanciunas. I personally was very happy with the pick (maybe even ecstatic) of Valanciunas at the end of the day (I was not so pleased with the fact that the Raptors couldn’t acquire a 2nd round pick to use on Josh Selby or Isaiah Thomas). At least he didn’t take Bismack Biyombo (great name aside he is way too raw and has buyout issues and is a shorter version of current Raptors project: Solomon Alabi in my opinion).
The frustration of the pick for Raptors fans stems directly from Andrea Bargnani’s 1st overall selection in 2006 and the Euro style of play the Raptors have unsuccessfully tried to play since he was drafted. Bargnani is the most polarizing player on the Raptors because although he can score 20+ points per game, the consistency isn’t there and in 5 years he still hasn’t learned how to play defense and lacks the drive to rebound the ball even though he is 7 feet tall and more athletic than most bigs. Even Colangelo (his biggest supporter) seems to be running out of patience with Andrea as he called him an enigma in the exit interviews after the season and made some pointed comments about Andrea’s development on the defensive end. Valanciunas is unfairly being cast as another Andrea simply because he’s physically a carbon-copy of what Bargnani was like in ’06 (Legit 7 footer who’s athletic but too frail for the NBA, worst thing he did was admit it which fired up the naysayers to heights unseen). However, I’m glad the Raptors took him at 5 and here’s why.
Pros:
He’s long (like really long), agile, and very fluid while running the floor and at only 19 years old he’s a bigman with a lot of promise who still has potential to grow over 7 ft and of course fill out physically. In terms of his style of play he is the exact opposite of Bargnani. His game is much more North American than European. He is much more comfortable playing in the low post and his range only extends to about 12-15 feet. He is surprisingly a really good free throw shooter which should translate to a good mid range game with some time and work. He is at this point much better on the defensive end. He is intimidating in the post because he is so long and he plays with a lot of heart often taking hits to the body in order to protect the rim. He has a very high motor on both ends and on the glass and loves to play the game (basketball in Lithuania is like hockey in Canada). He’ll take some time to develop but he’ll be a good starter at the Center position with the potential to be really good. He’s more of a C than a PF which would allow Bargnani to slide over to his natural position at the 4. However, the Raptors already have a logjam at that position so it’ll be interesting to see what Colangelo does if the lockout ever ends.
Cons:
There aren’t really many but the main thing is he needs to fill out physically and he has to develop a lot more post moves as he is predictable down there. To be fair, Lietuvos Rytas (his current Lithuanian team) uses him as a defensive specialist and someone to collect garbage points on the offensive end so he hasn’t really had many opportunities to be a significant contributor on the offensive end. With a new coach in the fold for Lietuvos Rytas who has said he plans to use Valanciunas a lot more in the upcoming season hopefully Valanciunas can improve on the offensive end because presently he doesn’t really have an offensive game. His jumper also lacks consistency or real range but he has good form and release so after lots of repetition he should be able to develop a solid mid-range jumper. The other big issue with him was his buyout but it seems it’s not too big of a deal ‘cause apparently it was taken care of rather quickly after the draft and he will be coming over to the Raptors for the 2012-2013 season. This could work in the Raptors favour if the lockout cancels the season but if it doesn’t, it becomes a bit of a drawback because they won’t be able to directly develop him with an NBA regimen and schedule. However the Raptors have the peace of mind that this isn’t anything like the Ricky Rubio situation or what the Biyombo situation might become.
Conclusion:
The Raptors could quite possibly have the best player in this draft after it’s all said and done and they were really fortunate he was available at 5 ‘cause most mocks had him going 3 or 4. He has been successful at every level he has played at especially when he has been matched up against players in the same age group as him. In 2008, at the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Italy. He dominated the tournament, averaging 14.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 23.5 minutes of action. His team went on to win the gold medal and he was chosen as the MVP of the tournament. Fast forward 2 years to the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship held in his native Lithuania and he once again dominated the opposition to claim the gold while averaging 19.4 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, and was once again voted as the MVP. And earlier this summer at the, 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Latvia. He led his team to another gold medal, averaging 23.0 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 31 mpg. He was once again named the tournament MVP. Furthermore, he scored 36 points in the gold medal game against Serbia, which was the highest point total scored in a game by any player in the tournament and displayed his improving offense. He has also had success with Lietuvos Rytas and should be on the roster for the Lithuanian senior men’s national team for EuroBasket 2011 which will be held in Lithuania starting August 31st. All in all he is a very promising big man and I look forward to his Raptors debut. Also the Raptors could market him as "V" think of the ad possibilities! (as long as I never have to see another Bargnani Primo Pasta commercial I'll be happy)
Mixtape:
2011 U19 World Championship Highlights:
Peace and Much Love to Ya :)
Mere seconds after NBA Commissioner David Stern uttered those words I took to twitter and was not surprised at the reaction of my fellow Raptors fans. The subsequent tweets that followed from Raptors fans were very much calling for Raptors general manager, Bryan Colangelo, to trade the pick to get Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker or Kawhi Leonard depending on who Raptors fans wanted but one thing was certain: no one wanted Valanciunas. I personally was very happy with the pick (maybe even ecstatic) of Valanciunas at the end of the day (I was not so pleased with the fact that the Raptors couldn’t acquire a 2nd round pick to use on Josh Selby or Isaiah Thomas). At least he didn’t take Bismack Biyombo (great name aside he is way too raw and has buyout issues and is a shorter version of current Raptors project: Solomon Alabi in my opinion).
The frustration of the pick for Raptors fans stems directly from Andrea Bargnani’s 1st overall selection in 2006 and the Euro style of play the Raptors have unsuccessfully tried to play since he was drafted. Bargnani is the most polarizing player on the Raptors because although he can score 20+ points per game, the consistency isn’t there and in 5 years he still hasn’t learned how to play defense and lacks the drive to rebound the ball even though he is 7 feet tall and more athletic than most bigs. Even Colangelo (his biggest supporter) seems to be running out of patience with Andrea as he called him an enigma in the exit interviews after the season and made some pointed comments about Andrea’s development on the defensive end. Valanciunas is unfairly being cast as another Andrea simply because he’s physically a carbon-copy of what Bargnani was like in ’06 (Legit 7 footer who’s athletic but too frail for the NBA, worst thing he did was admit it which fired up the naysayers to heights unseen). However, I’m glad the Raptors took him at 5 and here’s why.
Pros:
He’s long (like really long), agile, and very fluid while running the floor and at only 19 years old he’s a bigman with a lot of promise who still has potential to grow over 7 ft and of course fill out physically. In terms of his style of play he is the exact opposite of Bargnani. His game is much more North American than European. He is much more comfortable playing in the low post and his range only extends to about 12-15 feet. He is surprisingly a really good free throw shooter which should translate to a good mid range game with some time and work. He is at this point much better on the defensive end. He is intimidating in the post because he is so long and he plays with a lot of heart often taking hits to the body in order to protect the rim. He has a very high motor on both ends and on the glass and loves to play the game (basketball in Lithuania is like hockey in Canada). He’ll take some time to develop but he’ll be a good starter at the Center position with the potential to be really good. He’s more of a C than a PF which would allow Bargnani to slide over to his natural position at the 4. However, the Raptors already have a logjam at that position so it’ll be interesting to see what Colangelo does if the lockout ever ends.
Cons:
There aren’t really many but the main thing is he needs to fill out physically and he has to develop a lot more post moves as he is predictable down there. To be fair, Lietuvos Rytas (his current Lithuanian team) uses him as a defensive specialist and someone to collect garbage points on the offensive end so he hasn’t really had many opportunities to be a significant contributor on the offensive end. With a new coach in the fold for Lietuvos Rytas who has said he plans to use Valanciunas a lot more in the upcoming season hopefully Valanciunas can improve on the offensive end because presently he doesn’t really have an offensive game. His jumper also lacks consistency or real range but he has good form and release so after lots of repetition he should be able to develop a solid mid-range jumper. The other big issue with him was his buyout but it seems it’s not too big of a deal ‘cause apparently it was taken care of rather quickly after the draft and he will be coming over to the Raptors for the 2012-2013 season. This could work in the Raptors favour if the lockout cancels the season but if it doesn’t, it becomes a bit of a drawback because they won’t be able to directly develop him with an NBA regimen and schedule. However the Raptors have the peace of mind that this isn’t anything like the Ricky Rubio situation or what the Biyombo situation might become.
Conclusion:
The Raptors could quite possibly have the best player in this draft after it’s all said and done and they were really fortunate he was available at 5 ‘cause most mocks had him going 3 or 4. He has been successful at every level he has played at especially when he has been matched up against players in the same age group as him. In 2008, at the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Italy. He dominated the tournament, averaging 14.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 23.5 minutes of action. His team went on to win the gold medal and he was chosen as the MVP of the tournament. Fast forward 2 years to the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship held in his native Lithuania and he once again dominated the opposition to claim the gold while averaging 19.4 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, and was once again voted as the MVP. And earlier this summer at the, 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Latvia. He led his team to another gold medal, averaging 23.0 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 31 mpg. He was once again named the tournament MVP. Furthermore, he scored 36 points in the gold medal game against Serbia, which was the highest point total scored in a game by any player in the tournament and displayed his improving offense. He has also had success with Lietuvos Rytas and should be on the roster for the Lithuanian senior men’s national team for EuroBasket 2011 which will be held in Lithuania starting August 31st. All in all he is a very promising big man and I look forward to his Raptors debut. Also the Raptors could market him as "V" think of the ad possibilities! (as long as I never have to see another Bargnani Primo Pasta commercial I'll be happy)
Mixtape:
2011 U19 World Championship Highlights:
Peace and Much Love to Ya :)
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