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I say it will take quite a few years before he'll make a noticable impact in the NBA.

WOAT opinion. Darko?

NO!!! Lmao... To me he is far more advanced than Darko was...

He doesn't seem to exhibit the Darko ego issues. I give him a good chance of succeeding.

He's more of a project than I realized after watching him play recently. Watched him play in person against Great Britain a couple weeks ago and I barely noticed him out there. Same thing in the ARG-LTU game the other day; he wasn’t doing much of anything in the minutes he played.

I was under the impression that he was a really amazing prospect with all the buzz you hear about him, but he’s a lot more raw than I imagined. I agree it will probably take a couple years before he really starts to show something.

My thoughts are I am tired of being asked the same question every 3 weeks....why don't you just wait to the NBA season starts

I voted all the options just to make sure that I'll turn out to be right.

Right now, he is easily as good as Tyson Chandler.

Defensively, with his length and mobility, he can really impact the game. If given adequate playing he will easily get 1.5 blocks 9+ rebounds per game.

Offensively, he is just raw and not much of a factor. He has an ok postgame, but not nearly good enough to be a reliable threat on offense. Doesn't seem to have much touch around the basket.
He is a great finisher though.

He sets picks very aggresively and needs to be more careful with it to avoid unnecessary foul trouble.

His aggressive attitude can be a double-edged sword, as his drive is contributing to his good play but also makes lose his focus sometimes.

But the kid is just 20 yrs old, has an NBA ready body and will be ready to contribute from day one, with the only concern being foul trouble. Playing with Lowry and Calderon will help him get easy baskets. With his aggressive and defensive minded playing style, he is a perfect fit next to Bargnani, who will take the major load of low post scoring.

I don't see, how he won't be starting at some point during his rookie season, since he is already better than Ed Davis, Aaron Gray or Amir Johnson.

He`s a lock for runner up for Rookie of the Year. If he gets enough minutes, he could be ROTY. Expect 1.5 blocks, 9.5 RPG and 15 PPG.

TylerTheDebater wrote:He`s a lock for runner up for Rookie of the Year. If he gets enough minutes, he could be ROTY. Expect 1.5 blocks, 9.5 RPG and 15 PPG.

No way, he scores 15ppg.

CROSS+ wrote:Right now, he is easily as good as Tyson Chandler.

I don't even.

Who knows...I don't think anyone here can accurately predict how someones skills from the Lithuanian league will translate to the NBA. I'm struggling to find many people in that league I've even heard of

He never gets the basketball from his point guards

He loves asking for it though

Poor man's Bogut.

CROSS+ wrote:Right now, he is easily as good as Tyson Chandler.

TChan right now, at this moment, is so much better than Val it's almost embarassing. Not remotely comparable.

Val will have a tough time staying out of foul trouble in the NBA. Chandler averaged 24.4 MPG in his second season, it's hard to imagine Val averaging that in his 5th year. I would bet 2/3 of everything I have Val won't be able to average 24.4 MPG+ in any of his first 3 seasons. He's not what you're expecting.

He'll make Cleveland look less foolish that most expected at first.

Also, 15 PPG? That assumes Lowry and Bargnani will get out of his way a la Dwight.

I'm not worried about him, he already showed he can play with the big guys, with numerous good games against NBA competition, being as raw as he is. He'll have a much easier time in the NBA coaching-wise, and i think the NBA game is actually plays more to his strengths, same as it was with Rubio. I think he'll have a solid rookie campaign, and shine from his 2nd, or 3rd year, and will have a chance to be one of the best center in the NBA.

TwentyOne920 wrote:He'll make Cleveland look less foolish that most expected at first.

Wouldn't count on that. I think he's a superior prospect to TT, whom i like btw.

Nah not Darko, unless Larry Brown takes over he will actually see minutes and get some experience in the NBA game, and he's had a couple years to bang with proper big men in Europe.

Much too early to speculate though

I expect him to have a similar impact to '06-'09 Biedrins, top 10 center after a few years might be a stretch.