After Ricky Rubio, Jonas Valanciunas=International Superstar

[Yoga]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plcikIwBWaQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7QwMr9cteI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[Yoga]

Not best quality, but here is all last Saturday's game:
first half: http://tv.lrytas.lt/?id=13283822011327852720
second half: http://tv.lrytas.lt/?id=13283870601327167031
Jonas biggest part of his time played in first and third quaters.

[Yoga]

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

Today Alba - Lietuvos Rytas.

http://tv.lrytas.lt/live

[Yoga]

TheBarged Povilas Baranauskas
Jonas Valančiūnas ranks #1 in Rebounds in Eurocup's Last 16. 9.8 rebounds in just 24.4 minutes of PT. That's 19.3 rebs/48 mins. #RAPTORS
11 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Retweeted by @LithuaniaBasket

[UcanUwill]

He is also first in blocks per game, fifth in Efficiency per minute and has 9th. best TS% in ''Eurocup top 16'' so far.

No one is even close to his per minute rebounding numbers, Jonas grabs 16 rebounds per 40 minutes, second best per minute rebounder, Nik Caner-Medley grabs 11.4 rebounds per 40...
Jonas is playing for a championship contender, so its appropriate to compare his numbers to Marc Gasols numbers. It is very close, Jonas is 2 points behind, but his rebounding numbers are way better so far.

I think he gonna have Nik Pekovic problem early in his NBA career tho, moving screens and fouls...

[JamesNaismith]

If most people in here were aware of that Mufasa makes Meyers Leonard out to be the next Wilt Chamberlian then they would probably do as I do and ignore what he says about prospects.

[6_Rings]

Colangelo is such a bad evaluator of talent so i think hell be another softie like Bargs and Hose.

[droponov]

Valanciunas' rebounding rate in the Euroleague last season was historical. Nobody is even close this year.

[MaxRider]

why is a big man wearing low top kobe?

[Raptor_Claw]

I like Valanciunas quite a lot. But personally, I think I prefer Motiejunas over him. Motiejunas is too soft, and I certainly don't like that, but I think he has more skills and upside.

I would compare Valanciunas to someone like Splitter, with Splitter being a better defender, and Valanciunas being a better finisher around the rim.

On the other hand, I would compare Motiejunas to Bosh when he was younger. Motiejunas is softer than Bosh though, and that's his big weakness. But Motiejunas, for me, has more skills and game than Valanciunas.

Also, as far as young players that are currently playing in the Euroleague, that are either already drafted by an NBA team, or are still draft eligible are concerned, Mirotic, Valanciunas, and Motiejunas have already been mentioned. But I think that guys like Bogdanovic, Preldzic, Milan Macvan, Kostas Sloukas, and Kostas Papanikoloau should also be discussed. They all have some definite potential to become very good players. Shengelia and Aldemir also have potential. Joel Freeland is also a pretty solid player. Kyle Singler is doing a decent job also.

And maybe even someone like Nick Calathes. He's not a very good player in the Euroleague, but in all honesty, neither were Rubio, Lawson, and Jennings, and look what they are doing in the NBA. Point guards seem to really increase their stats by a lot, going from the Euroleague to the NBA. So, he might be another case like that, you never know.

And there are also some of those young players that didn't get drafted by the NBA to keep an eye on. Guys like Vorontsevich, Schved, Aradori, and Shermadini are already quite good players.

[Yoga]

Interesting read from a Raptors insider on Jonas V's buyout situation:

Heisler's just making this up.

Indeed, he's wrong on the facts. Rytas is heading for the Eurocup final 4, and they can coast blindfolded to the Lithuanian League finals. That's several weeks of basketball right there. Zalgiris will miss the Euroleague playoffs, and maybe they don't want to pay Sonny to hang around for the Lithuanian League playoffs.

Secondly, there is a buyout in place, it's pretty rich, so I have little reason to believe Rytas has an incentive to move Jonas out early. There is no easy want to enhance the offer to make it more attractive for Rytas.

Third, and I think this is more important than our incentive to start Jonas early on his rookie scale: Jonas needs a full 82-game schedule to be able to pay for his part of the buyout. His first year salary is about $3.5 million, but pro-rated for say, 20 games, he'd only get one-quarter of that by joining the Raptors in March. While he would reach his second contract faster, that would still be more than three years down the line and subject to all kinds of factors in the meantime, like injury. Moreover, he would probably be better off having three full seasons of NBA play before becoming eligible for an extension.

I could make an argument that the Raptors could manage his first and second year minutes in a way that works for us when Val becomes eligible for an extension (i.e., his development is a bit slow and he signs a Bargnani type extension instead of a max deal.)

So while Rhett is right to think of the rookie scale issue from the Raptors' perspective, I'd argue that once we got a truncated NBA schedule, it was no longer in Valanciunas' interest to come over now.

BC, Ed Stefanski - hereafter referred to as ES - just had dinner with Valanciunas, the owner of the team, the head of the Lithuanian basketball federation, etc., and keeping a good relationship among all the parties was the prime purpose. I really doubt BC is going to start screwing up what has to be a great relationship.

Now, I'd love to have Valanciunas come over in May, after our season, to become familiar with Toronto, do some strength work that will benefit not only us but the Lithuanian NT for the Olympics. But that's no longer a contract thing, that's just good talent management. Rytas would have no say here, and the Lithuanian NT might even welcome it. This year's Olympic qualifying tournament is in Venezuela (why, I ask, does Venezuela get so many FIBA events, must be Chavez stuffing money in somebody's pocket). The Lithuanian NT is going to train in Houston prior to the tournament, so Val could spend a few weeks here, then go to Houston acclimated to the time zone and food. He could hang in Toronto with Kleiza, then they could join their teammates in Texas.

[nadalwon2012]

Watch out for Nikola Mirotic too; 23rd overall pick this year who's rights are currently owned by the Bulls.

It's amazing how far the game has come outside of the U.S. in just 20 short years. In '92, the best US basketball players beat teams by 60 without really breaking a sweat. This year, a team that at least comes close to comparing with the Dream Team will probably have to fight pretty hard to beat Spain, and there's plenty of other good teams there too.

Part of that is because the USA has sucky centers. Look how limited Dwight's offensive game is compared to The Dream, Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing etc., it's crazy how much USA has dropped off at the 5 spot. I mean, I know only Robinson and Ewing were in that 92 team, but that is far greater than any of the centers in today's USA. And at the 4 spot, a scoring machine like Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.....crazy hardcore interior.

[Yoga]

Jonas Valanciunas is playing right now. Check the links below for live game feed and boxscore:

Rytas is playing vs Neptunas right now.
http://tv.lrytas.lt/live/
http://www.lshunter.tv/basketball-live- ... video.html

You got a box score?

http://www.lkl.lt/netcasting/index.php?game_number=3053

[Macho]

I'm not getting my hopes up, Raps fans have been disappointed one to many times.

Can't wait to see what he can do in the NBA though.

[3gbrrrfkyt]

I honestly don't know what is up with all the hype with Jonas. Since I'm from Lithuania I can watch all of his games and he hasn't really impressed me. He always seems to be crap when the opposing team has a bigger/stronger C.When he comes to the NBA he will face even stronger guys and I don't see him being able to do ****.
I hope I'm wrong though :/

[Kabookalu]

I honestly don't know what is up with all the hype with Jonas. Since I'm from Lithuania I can watch all of his games and he hasn't really impressed me. He always seems to be crap when the opposing team has a bigger/stronger C.When he comes to the NBA he will face even stronger guys and I don't see him being able to do ****.
I hope I'm wrong though :/

Oh god I hope you are, us Raptors fans need something to cheer about.

[UcanUwill]

I like Valanciunas quite a lot. But personally, I think I prefer Motiejunas over him. Motiejunas is too soft, and I certainly don't like that, but I think he has more skills and upside.

I would compare Valanciunas to someone like Splitter, with Splitter being a better defender, and Valanciunas being a better finisher around the rim.

On the other hand, I would compare Motiejunas to Bosh when he was younger. Motiejunas is softer than Bosh though, and that's his big weakness. But Motiejunas, for me, has more skills and game than Valanciunas....

I really dont like Motiejunas. Hes just bad... Inefficient and just terrible defender. His TS% is one of the worst in the entire Eurolegue (48%), and scoring is basically all he can do... I really dont like him at all, I would actually prefer an empty roster spot than Motiejunas. You compare him to Bosh, i compare him to Villanueva... Blatche at best.
And dont forget Jonas is born in 1992 and hes a true center. Course hes not as flashy and versatile as Motiejunas, but he doesnt have to be. Hes a C. And hes much better player.

Talking about other guys you mentioned. I think Nik Calathes is ready to step up. Very good player.
Preldzic is one of my favorite Euro players, but I dont think hes suited for the NBA. I see him as a NBA bust.
Milan Macvan will prove he can play in the NBA. He may not be athletic, but hes skilled. Skills>athleticism.

I honestly don't know what is up with all the hype with Jonas. Since I'm from Lithuania I can watch all of his games and he hasn't really impressed me. He always seems to be crap when the opposing team has a bigger/stronger C.When he comes to the NBA he will face even stronger guys and I don't see him being able to do ****.
I hope I'm wrong though :/

Look how efficient he is. Best current Euro prospect. And I disagree he looks like crap against bigger guys. It is not true, he did played against NBA players in Eurobasket, and he was great.
Yes, He struggles against Strong guys sometimes tho. Talking about pure muscle. Players like Pek, Dwight, those are the guys...
But length is not an issue. Ordinary NBA 7 Footers like Mozgov, Krstic, Kaman, Pau and even Marc just cant stop him, and Jonas felt no disadvantage playing against them.

[C-izMe]

I prefer Mirotic to Jonas and I thought Montejunias would be like a young Dirk. I'm the worst judge of foreign talent ever.

[afacian]

Some posters are mentioning his offensive efficiency but they don't take turnovers into account.

In Eurobasket 2011 he had 2.6 turnovers per game (7th in tournament) in just 15 minutes.

I am not saying he won't improve but as of now it is a stretch to predict that he will be an offensive presence in NBA. Kanter who has much better offensive skills compared to him is already struggling against quicker NBA inside players.

[Johnny Firpo]

I prefer Mirotic to Jonas and I thought Montejunias would be like a young Dirk. I'm the worst judge of foreign talent ever.

I actually think all three guys has great potential. Those guys are elite european prospects. (not necessarily elite NBA talent of course). Can't wait to see all 3 of them in the NBA.