WELCOME Kasparas Jakucionis...our new Dragic? *POLL*

[MartyConlonJr]

If Spo is 6'2 and Riley is 6'4 then from that video Kasparas looks 6'6 or 6'7 to me.

[marson]

Not gonna lie, I didn’t expect this kid to fall to 20. It’s wild, and honestly, that’s why I didn’t really bother watching much of his tape compared to guys like Nolan, WCJ, or even Jase Richardson.

But his ceiling? I think it’s higher than Dragic’s. At 6'6" with elite passing IQ, he reminds me a bit of Luka and Haliburton. I’m not even worried about the athleticism, he’s a Euro, and with those guys, it’s all about fundamentals. And he already has that down at just 18 years old.

His turnover issues in college are definitely fixable. Don’t forget, Haliburton was turnover-prone too around 3 as well in college, and now he's dropping zero-turnover games in the playoffs. I believe our development staff can clean that up.

His shooting is still a bit shaky, but that’s something that can absolutely be improved.

One concern, though if Herro extends his max contract for three more years this summer, that would line up with the time Kaspa is due for his next deal. I worry the fit with Herro could be a bit awkward early on. But if Kaspa keeps developing and becomes our primary ball handler, we might need to start looking for a 3-and-D type at the 2 spot—someone like Nembhard or KCP.

[VaDe255]

I don’t get the Dragic comparisons. Dragic was picked 45th and was already 22, he didn’t become a starting caliber point guard until around age 26. That’s more like the mid outcome for Kasparas, not the upside.

The Haliburton comp is much more fitting. You can’t expect KJ to be quite that level of passer, but his elite vision and feel for the game are clearly his standout traits whereas Dragic was more of a scoring guard with a slashing mindset.

The high end outcome for Jakucionis is a potential lead guard once fully developed, someone with elite vision, crafty finishing, and a knack for drawing fouls (which he already shows). If it all clicks, he’s got the upside to be a franchise level player you build around, something Dragic wasn't ever close to.

[dshearn]

If Spo is 6'2 and Riley is 6'4 then from that video Kasparas looks 6'6 or 6'7 to me.

Yeah..... someone said he was officially 6-5 in shoes.

That might be true, I have no idea....I did not know who the dude was last week.....but in those Euro games the dude looks more like a PF than a PG in size.

I said I thought the dude looked big, and that was when someone said he was 6-5 in shoes. That might be true, I have no idea....but IF I had to guess I would say 6-6 or 6-7 too.

using people as a measuring stick from different angles is surely more complicated then it might seem...but I just can't buy Tyler Herro and Kas are BOTH 6-5.

We have seen Tyler Standing around Spo for years.... Kas looks nothing like Tyler when he was standing next to Spo. Dude looks huge.

Lol at least we can feel (with some confidence) this will not be a case where some dude was sold as 6-5 and he showed up at 6-2 or some nonsense...this dude looks like he has legit SF size.

[dshearn]

I don’t get the Dragic comparisons. Dragic was picked 45th and was already 22, he didn’t become a starting caliber point guard until around age 26. That’s more like the mid outcome for Kasparas, not the upside.

The Haliburton comp is much more fitting. You can’t expect KJ to be quite that level of passer, but his elite vision and feel for the game are clearly his standout traits whereas Dragic was more of a scoring guard with a slashing mindset.

The high end outcome for Jakucionis is a potential lead guard once fully developed, someone with elite vision, crafty finishing, and a knack for drawing fouls (which he already shows). If it all clicks, he’s got the upside to be a franchise level player you build around, something Dragic wasn't ever close to.

I would guess it comes from his near basket heroics. He has that lengthy highlight reel of circus shots and passes in traffic under the basket.The last player the Heat had that made a living doing that was Dragic.

I can see some Dragic in his game, but also some Luka too. He does a lot of that slow, and slower stuff to draw fouls, and also that slow, slow, and go stuff you see from Luka to compensate for not having a 5th and 6th gear when driving to the basket.

You are not the only person to toss out that Hali compero... others are seeing what you are seeing too.

Either way...gotta love the names being tossed around to explain KJ's game

[Wiltside]

He’s 6’4.75” barefoot. So he’d have to be around 6’6” in shoes. That’s a big PG. He also just turned 19, so conceivably could still grow a little.

College game is very different to the pros too. Likewise Euroleague is different to both also. I think he’s going to enjoy the PnR heavy offense, and more spacing, that playing in the NBA provides. That alone should help some of the turnover issues.

Hes also going to have a couple of elite lob threats to pass it too, which will help.

[Jstock12]

He’s 6’4.75” barefoot. So he’d have to be around 6’6” in shoes. That’s a big PG. He also just turned 19, so conceivably could still grow a little.

College game is very different to the pros too. Likewise Euroleague is different to both also. I think he’s going to enjoy the PnR heavy offense, and more spacing, that playing in the NBA provides. That alone should help some of the turnover issues.

Hes also going to have a couple of elite lob threats to pass it too, which will help.

At the very start of the college season, Jakucionis came in with a pass-first mentality in his first two games in total dishing out 20 assists and 5 turnovers, but then apparently the coaching staff asked him to take on much more of a scoring load and switch his mentality to be more of an alpha scorer / combo guard than a pure facilitator. Don't forget he also holds the single game assist record in the youth Euroleague. I think he could have easily averaged more assists in college. I agree with you that having the lob threats will be huge for his playmaking and being able to do things that he used to do with Barca's youth team where they had some very athletic long guys. This wasn't really the case in Illinois.

[MartyConlonJr]

[twix2500]

Watch on YouTube

;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.realgm.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

[DayofMourning]

One concern, though if Herro extends his max contract for three more years this summer, that would line up with the time Kaspa is due for his next deal. I worry the fit with Herro could be a bit awkward early on. But if Kaspa keeps developing and becomes our primary ball handler, we might need to start looking for a 3-and-D type at the 2 spot—someone like Nembhard or KCP.

Ive got him paired with Larsson and Herro paired with Davion. Should be that way for a minute as I see Davion holding that starting spot for a minute.

[carnageta]

I don’t get the Dragic comparisons. Dragic was picked 45th and was already 22, he didn’t become a starting caliber point guard until around age 26. That’s more like the mid outcome for Kasparas, not the upside.

The Haliburton comp is much more fitting. You can’t expect KJ to be quite that level of passer, but his elite vision and feel for the game are clearly his standout traits whereas Dragic was more of a scoring guard with a slashing mindset.

The high end outcome for Jakucionis is a potential lead guard once fully developed, someone with elite vision, crafty finishing, and a knack for drawing fouls (which he already shows). If it all clicks, he’s got the upside to be a franchise level player you build around, something Dragic wasn't ever close to.

I agree for the most part. I would say that Dragic had some underrated seasons though. I.e. In 2014 he was 3rd team all NBA (something even Bam has not accomplished at this point).

[al bondiga]

Too much sucking on Jak's Dick... Let's wait and see Before we appoint him the best point g in the nba... shall we?

expectarions!!

[Jstock12]

I don’t get the Dragic comparisons. Dragic was picked 45th and was already 22, he didn’t become a starting caliber point guard until around age 26. That’s more like the mid outcome for Kasparas, not the upside.

The Haliburton comp is much more fitting. You can’t expect KJ to be quite that level of passer, but his elite vision and feel for the game are clearly his standout traits whereas Dragic was more of a scoring guard with a slashing mindset.

The high end outcome for Jakucionis is a potential lead guard once fully developed, someone with elite vision, crafty finishing, and a knack for drawing fouls (which he already shows). If it all clicks, he’s got the upside to be a franchise level player you build around, something Dragic wasn't ever close to.

I agree for the most part. I would say that Dragic had some underrated seasons though. I.e. In 2014 he was 3rd team all NBA (something even Bam has not accomplished at this point).

Also when Slovenia won the EuroBasket, it was Dragic who carried them on his shoulders while Luka Doncic was just a sidekick (granted he was 18 yo). Dragic was a beast.

[twix2500]

He’s 6’4.75” barefoot. So he’d have to be around 6’6” in shoes. That’s a big PG. He also just turned 19, so conceivably could still grow a little.

College game is very different to the pros too. Likewise Euroleague is different to both also. I think he’s going to enjoy the PnR heavy offense, and more spacing, that playing in the NBA provides. That alone should help some of the turnover issues.

Hes also going to have a couple of elite lob threats to pass it too, which will help.

spacing part hasn't been answered

[Voltron914]

Too much sucking on Jak's Dick... Let's wait and see Before we appoint him the best point g in the nba... shall we?

expectarions!!

to be fair we didnt have much to celebrate in awhile so some future hope is needed. If we indeed drafted fit Luka instead of chasing and maxing fat Luka that would great since we have some complimentary pieces he could have success with. most of his highlight reels shows clean connected passes that were badly bricked so that is a positive sign that those assist numbers could've been higher. The kid is not athletic but he looks like a tank. with a little more muscle and his foot work we can also have another post up threat

[Wiltside]

He’s 6’4.75” barefoot. So he’d have to be around 6’6” in shoes. That’s a big PG. He also just turned 19, so conceivably could still grow a little.

College game is very different to the pros too. Likewise Euroleague is different to both also. I think he’s going to enjoy the PnR heavy offense, and more spacing, that playing in the NBA provides. That alone should help some of the turnover issues.

Hes also going to have a couple of elite lob threats to pass it too, which will help.

spacing part hasn't been answered

What do you mean? The NBA game is much more open than college?

[twix2500]

He’s 6’4.75” barefoot. So he’d have to be around 6’6” in shoes. That’s a big PG. He also just turned 19, so conceivably could still grow a little.

College game is very different to the pros too. Likewise Euroleague is different to both also. I think he’s going to enjoy the PnR heavy offense, and more spacing, that playing in the NBA provides. That alone should help some of the turnover issues.

Hes also going to have a couple of elite lob threats to pass it too, which will help.

spacing part hasn't been answered

What do you mean? The NBA game is much more open than college?

The spacing on the Heat roster hasnt been answered.

[lastb1ckman]

spacing part hasn't been answered

What do you mean? The NBA game is much more open than college?

The spacing on the Heat roster hasnt been answered.

That means atleast 1 of Duncan or Burks is gonna need to be back. Otherwise hopefully Jokic, Wiggins, and Davion start shooting consistently

[dshearn]

this looks more even then the way it looked in the YouTube video...in this one he looks maybe an inch taller then herro using the least dependable way to judge height ( guessing from various angles using a 3rd person )

[MartyConlonJr]

Yes well top of Spo's head seems in line with middle of Riley's forehead in both. Top of Spo's head also at Herros eyeline. Top of Riley's head at Kasparas eye line. So on that theory, Kasparas is taller than Herro by the height from Riley's middle of forehead to top of his head, probably 2 inches. Or more easily just go from top of Spos head for Herro eyeline, top of Riley's head for Kasparas eyeline, and we know they are 6'2 and 6'4, so that is 2 inches.

That being said, Riley is 80 - he may not be 6'4 any more.

But if Herro is 6'5, Kasparas may be 6'7.