Jonas Valanciunas in 2012 Draft:

[Niko23]

He was so great that the Wolves and Jazz passed on him, when both, needed big men, and both could afford to wait a year until he came over. But yes he is clearly the 2nd best player in a much deeper draft......

[Optms]

Maybe its just me, but I don't see anything special with him to warrant a clear cut second selection. Than again, anytime I see a Euro projected to go inside the top 10 I give pause. He'll be a quality starter 5 years down the line but nothing more. Solid for number 5 but a bust waiting to happen at 2.

[princeofpalace]

I could see him going as high as 5 to Sacramento, 6 or 11 to Portland, 9 to Detroit, 10 New Orleans or 12 to Milwaukee. I think 12 would be his floor.

[Raptor_Claw]

I don't think he's as appealing this year as he was last. He's a year older and did not show to be appreciably better in his league games. Most people are judging off of the U-19 and European Championships--which he was admittedly terrific in--but I think he has some issues that make me pause. I like him, don't love him. He could go 2, I think you could also justify letting him fall to 8th or so. To me, he's on par with a prospect like Drummond.

And Davis is judged by his ncaa games, where he plays against other kids, while Valanciunas played the whole season in Europe against grown ass men, some of them former nba players (and even present nba players during the lockout). Not saying he will for sure end up better than Davis, but he would dominate the NCAA's.

Who cares if he played against men . Look at Darko he played against Men and Lebron played against high players look how that turned out .

Yes, because all European players are just like Darko mentally and personality-wise.

[Vindicater]

I think the better question is where do the rest of the 2011 go in this draft? Honestly, more than half of the first rounders would be 2nd rounders this year.

1. Hornets - Anthony Davis
2. Bobcats - Kyrie Irving
3. Wizards - Jonas Valanciunas
4. Cavs - Bradley Beal
5. Kings - Thomas Robinson
6. Blazers - Andre Drummond
7. Warriors - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
8. Raptors - Harrison Barnes
9. Pistons - Derrick Williams
10. Hornets - Damian Lillard
11. Blazers - Jeremy Lamb
12. Bucks - Meyers Leonard
13. Suns - Brandon Knight
14. Rockets - Enes Kanter
15. Sixers - Tristian Thompson
16. Rockets - Dion Waiters
17. Mavs - Austin Rivers
18. Wolves - Kawhi Leonard
19. Magic - Tyler Zeller
20. Nuggets - Kendall Marshall
21. Celtics - John Henson
22. Celtics - Terrence Ross
23. Hawks - Kenneth Faried
24. Cavs - Perry Jones
25. Grizzlies - Klay Thompson
26. Pacers - Arnett Moultrie
27. Heat - Bismack Biyombo
28. Thunder - MarShon Brooks
29. Bulls - Kemba Walker
30. Warriors - Jared Sullinger

Ahhh.... Hindsight is a beautiful thing.

There is no way in hell that Biyombo would fall to 27 in this draft.

D. Williams would probably still go top 5 as well based on his college numbers.

[Vindicater]

Lebron played against high players look how that turned out .

I just had this vision of Lebron dunking on a thin pasty white kid.

"Ahh man... that's not cool man... I'm just trying to play defense here man..."

[JWiLL02]

I don't think he's as appealing this year as he was last. He's a year older and did not show to be appreciably better in his league games. Most people are judging off of the U-19 and European Championships--which he was admittedly terrific in--but I think he has some issues that make me pause. I like him, don't love him. He could go 2, I think you could also justify letting him fall to 8th or so. To me, he's on par with a prospect like Drummond.

And Davis is judged by his ncaa games, where he plays against other kids, while Valanciunas played the whole season in Europe against grown ass men, some of them former nba players (and even present nba players during the lockout). Not saying he will for sure end up better than Davis, but he would dominate the NCAA's.

Who cares if he played against men . Look at Darko he played against Men and Lebron played against high players look how that turned out .

Yeah but Darko didn't even excel playing overseas, while Valanciunas was at one point breaking efficiency records.

[Dupp]

No later than 6.

Other than contract issues or something that came up in an interview behind closed doors there was no reason for him to fall to 5 last year.

If he comes out strong next year my tears will be both numerous and salty.

Me too man, me too.

[Dr Positivity]

He'd probably go between 5 and 8. Valanciunas went behind Kanter and Thompson, and Beal, Robinson, MKG, Drummond, Barnes are all at a different level of hype than either of those guys.

Clear cut number 2. He would have also been the clear cut number 2 last year if not for euro contract obligations.

Valanciunas was considered a 4th/5th overall pick the entire season, for reasons that had nothing to do with his buyout (the news of it came pretty late). Derrick Williams vs Jonas was considered a non question last year. Williams was considered 1b to Irving. Remember when everyone was talking about CLE should take Williams 1st because Kemba/Knight at 4 was a better option than any big there? Jonas wasn't on the radar. Valanciunas and Kanter were the niche Euro guys hanging around 3-5, with Kanter being the 1a and Valanciunas being the 1b

[Stun704]

I think the better question is where do the rest of the 2011 go in this draft? Honestly, more than half of the first rounders would be 2nd rounders this year.

1. Hornets - Anthony Davis
2. Bobcats - Kyrie Irving
3. Wizards - Jonas Valanciunas
4. Cavs - Bradley Beal
5. Kings - Thomas Robinson
6. Blazers - Andre Drummond
7. Warriors - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
8. Raptors - Harrison Barnes
9. Pistons - Derrick Williams
10. Hornets - Damian Lillard
11. Blazers - Jeremy Lamb
12. Bucks - Meyers Leonard
13. Suns - Brandon Knight
14. Rockets - Enes Kanter
15. Sixers - Tristian Thompson
16. Rockets - Dion Waiters
17. Mavs - Austin Rivers
18. Wolves - Kawhi Leonard
19. Magic - Tyler Zeller
20. Nuggets - Kendall Marshall
21. Celtics - John Henson
22. Celtics - Terrence Ross
23. Hawks - Kenneth Faried
24. Cavs - Perry Jones
25. Grizzlies - Klay Thompson
26. Pacers - Arnett Moultrie
27. Heat - Bismack Biyombo
28. Thunder - MarShon Brooks
29. Bulls - Kemba Walker
30. Warriors - Jared Sullinger

Ahhh.... Hindsight is a beautiful thing.

There is no way in hell that Biyombo would fall to 27 in this draft.

D. Williams would probably still go top 5 as well based on his college numbers.

If Biyombo played college ball he'd prolly be the #2 pick

[Coach Smiley]

He should be top5 depending on team needs. For example I dont think Jordan would take him at 2 because they have Bismack.
Here is his 2011/2012 season highlighs long version
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBKPl6biP5M[/youtube]

can't wait

[Cobra Kai Dojo]

I think what people are forgetting is that the hype for J Val came from what people saw after the draft, before the draft most people just saw him as a good big man prospect, it wasnt till after the draft he showed why he should have gone earlier,

[Dr Positivity]

I don't think he's as appealing this year as he was last. He's a year older and did not show to be appreciably better in his league games. Most people are judging off of the U-19 and European Championships--which he was admittedly terrific in--but I think he has some issues that make me pause. I like him, don't love him. He could go 2, I think you could also justify letting him fall to 8th or so. To me, he's on par with a prospect like Drummond.

And Davis is judged by his ncaa games, where he plays against other kids, while Valanciunas played the whole season in Europe against grown ass men, some of them former nba players (and even present nba players during the lockout). Not saying he will for sure end up better than Davis, but he would dominate the NCAA's.

The NCAA is considered better competition than the Lithuanian league. The Euroleague released these rankings a few weeks ago

1. Spanish League
2. United League (international)
-- NBADL
3. Greek League
4. Italian League
5. Turkish League
-- NCAA (top 25 teams)
6. French League
7. German League
8. Lithuanian League
9. Adriatic League (international)
10. Belgian League
11. Czech League
12. Ukrainian League
13. Israeli League
14. Polish League
15. Bulgarian League
16. Dutch League

Jonas' Europe production is extremely overstated. First off, the Lithuanian league and the U19 tournament is terrible competition. Secondly as soon as the competition picked up for the tournament to get into the Euroleague, he played bad.

I believe Jonas will be one of the biggest draft busts of all time. I let some people convince for a year that he wasn't so bad of a prospect, but when I went back to download a handful of recent Lithuanian games, he really screamed to me again a non NBA talent. To me he's an unathletic Javale McGee. To me his lack of awareness of the court and awkwardness is McGee esque. He produces in the LKL because nobody's close to him in size. He has better hands than McGee and shoots FTs better, but in terms of their style of play, the way they throw themselves around physically, he produces in the same way to me. The way his blocked shots don't reflect just how bad he is defensively also is McGee esque. I believe when Jonas gets into the NBA it will be apparent that the game simply moves too fast for him mentally. My feeling is that to make it in the NBA requires a certain Mendoza line of "feel for the game". It's just that since just about every NBA player has it, we don't realize how important it is, until guys like Thabeet and Alexander come in and they don't. When I watch videos of eg. Lithuanian league games, the thing that stands out to me is how little feel the players have. They can do some things like shoot and drive but the fluidity they play at individually isn't NBA level. To me Jonas isn't only at that level, he's below it. He looks awkward and slow thinking/reacting and lacking feel for the game even vs Lithuania league competition.

Check out this video from last year, it matches perfectly what I see every time I watch a Jonas game.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS_-RMKoX9Y[/youtube]

Here's a recent game if you have a lot of time. To me nothing about Jonas in this game (or ones like it) indicates he's more of an NBA talent than the other guys on the court. The difference is he's taller, but since he can't jump (he will have one of the worst verticals in the NBA) the impact of his length is minimized.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKZ7H1wTODY[/youtube]

[He Filled it Up]

I think the better question is where do the rest of the 2011 go in this draft? Honestly, more than half of the first rounders would be 2nd rounders this year.

1. Hornets - Anthony Davis
2. Bobcats - Kyrie Irving
3. Wizards - Jonas Valanciunas
4. Cavs - Bradley Beal
5. Kings - Thomas Robinson
6. Blazers - Andre Drummond
7. Warriors - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
8. Raptors - Harrison Barnes
9. Pistons - Derrick Williams
10. Hornets - Damian Lillard
11. Blazers - Jeremy Lamb
12. Bucks - Meyers Leonard
13. Suns - Brandon Knight
14. Rockets - Enes Kanter
15. Sixers - Tristian Thompson
16. Rockets - Dion Waiters
17. Mavs - Austin Rivers
18. Wolves - Kawhi Leonard
19. Magic - Tyler Zeller
20. Nuggets - Kendall Marshall
21. Celtics - John Henson
22. Celtics - Terrence Ross
23. Hawks - Kenneth Faried
24. Cavs - Perry Jones
25. Grizzlies - Klay Thompson
26. Pacers - Arnett Moultrie
27. Heat - Bismack Biyombo
28. Thunder - MarShon Brooks
29. Bulls - Kemba Walker
30. Warriors - Jared Sullinger

The problem is we know a lot more about last years draft now, which makes this type of comparison difficult. Especially when discussing an already drafted prospect that hasn't played a minute in the NBA.

[BossHoggin]

this thread again?

[Muizha]

I don't think he's as appealing this year as he was last. He's a year older and did not show to be appreciably better in his league games. Most people are judging off of the U-19 and European Championships--which he was admittedly terrific in--but I think he has some issues that make me pause. I like him, don't love him. He could go 2, I think you could also justify letting him fall to 8th or so. To me, he's on par with a prospect like Drummond.

And Davis is judged by his ncaa games, where he plays against other kids, while Valanciunas played the whole season in Europe against grown ass men, some of them former nba players (and even present nba players during the lockout). Not saying he will for sure end up better than Davis, but he would dominate the NCAA's.

The NCAA is considered better competition than the Lithuanian league. The Euroleague released these rankings a few weeks ago

1. Spanish League
2. United League (international)
-- NBADL
3. Greek League
4. Italian League
5. Turkish League
-- NCAA (top 25 teams)
6. French League
7. German League
8. Lithuanian League
9. Adriatic League (international)
10. Belgian League
11. Czech League
12. Ukrainian League
13. Israeli League
14. Polish League
15. Bulgarian League
16. Dutch League

STOP IT! There was no NCAA nor NBADL leagues in those Euroleague rankings and it's beyond laughable that you think that NBADL could be ranked 3rd and NCAA just a few spots lower How can you say that FIBA U19 was **** tournament and still think so high of ncaa, do I have to remind you that team USA had lots of good NCAA players in that tournament like J. Lamb, M.Leonard, also Patric Young, Tony Mitchell, who both are projected to go mid 1st round in next years draft (by DX). That's a pretty good NCAA team to me, which finished only 5th in FIBA U19.
Also as you can see in your own posted rankings, that the United League, where Jonas also played is second and he had some really good games there also (like 20 and 9 against a strong Khimki team). Yeah he had forgetable games there also, but everybody has those especially a 19/20 year old.
I'm not saying Jonas will certainly be a superstar or something like that, because we just can't know, but I certainly think he would be the 2nd best prospect in this year's draft. And as I said he would dominate the NCAA's, if he would play there, like he did that USA team by having 30+15 with 4 blocked shots.

[Laure]

I don't think he's as appealing this year as he was last. He's a year older and did not show to be appreciably better in his league games. Most people are judging off of the U-19 and European Championships--which he was admittedly terrific in--but I think he has some issues that make me pause. I like him, don't love him. He could go 2, I think you could also justify letting him fall to 8th or so. To me, he's on par with a prospect like Drummond.

And Davis is judged by his ncaa games, where he plays against other kids, while Valanciunas played the whole season in Europe against grown ass men, some of them former nba players (and even present nba players during the lockout). Not saying he will for sure end up better than Davis, but he would dominate the NCAA's.

The NCAA is considered better competition than the Lithuanian league. The Euroleague released these rankings a few weeks ago

1. Spanish League
2. United League (international)
-- NBADL
3. Greek League
4. Italian League
5. Turkish League
-- NCAA (top 25 teams)
6. French League
7. German League
8. Lithuanian League
9. Adriatic League (international)
10. Belgian League
11. Czech League
12. Ukrainian League
13. Israeli League
14. Polish League
15. Bulgarian League
16. Dutch League

Jonas' Europe production is extremely overstated. First off, the Lithuanian league and the U19 tournament is terrible competition. Secondly as soon as the competition picked up for the tournament to get into the Euroleague, he played bad.

I believe Jonas will be one of the biggest draft busts of all time. I let some people convince for a year that he wasn't so bad of a prospect, but when I went back to download a handful of recent Lithuanian games, he really screamed to me again a non NBA talent. To me he's an unathletic Javale McGee. To me his lack of awareness of the court and awkwardness is McGee esque. He produces in the LKL because nobody's close to him in size. He has better hands than McGee and shoots FTs better, but in terms of their style of play, the way they throw themselves around physically, he produces in the same way to me. The way his blocked shots don't reflect just how bad he is defensively also is McGee esque. I believe when Jonas gets into the NBA it will be apparent that the game simply moves too fast for him mentally. My feeling is that to make it in the NBA requires a certain Mendoza line of "feel for the game". It's just that since just about every NBA player has it, we don't realize how important it is, until guys like Thabeet and Alexander come in and they don't. When I watch videos of eg. Lithuanian league games, the thing that stands out to me is how little feel the players have. They can do some things like shoot and drive but the fluidity they play at individually isn't NBA level. To me Jonas isn't only at that level, he's below it. He looks awkward and slow thinking/reacting and lacking feel for the game even vs Lithuania league competition.

Check out this video from last year, it matches perfectly what I see every time I watch a Jonas game.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS_-RMKoX9Y[/youtube]

Here's a recent game if you have a lot of time. To me nothing about Jonas in this game (or ones like it) indicates he's more of an NBA talent than the other guys on the court. The difference is he's taller, but since he can't jump (he will have one of the worst verticals in the NBA) the impact of his length is minimized.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKZ7H1wTODY[/youtube]

A lower - tier Sakalai team ( Lithuanian league) managed to beat an All NBDL team in China, so those league rankings are hardly correct. Top LTU teams would easily lead there, not to mention the stronger European league teams. As for JV's draft position, top 5, but definetely not 2.

[No-Man]

Ford is on crack, like always.

Valanciunas could be an 7-12 pick on this draft, in my mock he'll go 12th.

[No-Man]

Ford said he would go #2.

Ford is a lie if Jonas didn't go #2 in a weaker draft what makes you think he'll go in this one? Robinson, Barnes, Drummond, Beal, MKG are all better porspects

He was taken 5th last year because teams knew that he wouldn't get out of his Euro contract for a season. Valanciunas is easily the 2nd best prospect in this year's draft after Davis.

youre hopeless

[No-Man]

Drummond is a better prospect by far and he'll fall to 6 in this year Draft cause top5 Teams don't need a C, so Jonas would fall even further.

I can see him going 7, 9, 10 or 12 (assuming that Portland selects Drummond at 6, they doesn't pick another C).

Likely Milwaukee at 12th.