The Jonas Valanciunas Thread

[darth_federer]

Hopefully Bargnani is on his way out. I cant take another season of that lazy bum.

Honest question, do you really see Colangelo trading away Bargnani?

I just don't see it. He trades Bargnani, he's admitting the mistake. Then people will question his decision to select Jonas (don't like the pick at all btw).

I think that BC at the end of the day will see the light. Maybe he gives this one more year. With Casey and his experience helping out a somewhat similar player in Dirk (in terms of styles) and them saying that they were going after a premier C in free agency. If it doesnt work out then Bargnani is probably gone.

But the people on facebook are raging lol

[mowcrowbar]

Bboy, is the game footage of Val going to be available today?

[darth_federer]

His press conference is tomorrow btw.

[Visceral]

Yeah, a PG that can't go left is definitely going to be elite.

Honestly, if you're trolling/joking, just come out, it's not funny anymore.

[Undefeated]

His press conference is tomorrow btw.

Do you know what time it'll be airing?

[DG88]

Givony's full write up on Valanciunas on June 21, 2011

Jonas Valanciunas is an extremely intriguing prospect at 18-years old, but one of the reasons scouts like him so much is how efficient he was in the role he played for Rytas this season. In many ways, he's a clean slate, with some good habits that could serve him well in his development.

The young center played with a proficiency that belied his age, ranking amongst the top players in this group of bigmen in a number of different categories, including overall points per-possession (1.178, #1). Though it is important to note that he posted that mark in fairly small role (7.9 Pos/G), it ranks him well ahead of every prospect in this study, and 7th overall amongst all players in Europe.

Though it would be easy to point to Valanciunas's size, length and touch as the driving factors behind his efficiency, the young Lithuanian excels in a few key areas. His terrific effort level and hands made him a terrific pick and roll finisher. When Valanciunas was on the court for Rytas, he was asked to play hard and spend a considerable amount of time setting screens out on the perimeter. Roll man situations accounted for nearly a quarter of his touches (2nd) and he scored on an absurd 73% of his possessions when catching the ball rolling to the rim. This ranked him 3rd in this category behind Tristan Thompson and Kenneth Faried, who saw less than 2% of their offensive possessions in this manner, a far cry from Valanaciunas' 23.2%. Cuts also played a substantial part of his offense (20%), and he converted nearly a point and a half per opportunity (3rd) here as well.

Breaking down Valanciunas in the halfcourt, his ability to finish the touches he sees around the rim is a big part of his overall efficiency. Nearly 82.2% of Valanciunas's shots come around the basket in finishing situations, the most among all the big men in our sample, and he made 68% of those attempts last season (5th). A big target moving off the ball and a threat to score on the offensive glass, it is safe to say that Valanciunas thrived on catch and finish chances.

In terms of his ability to score one-on-one, Valanciunas has plenty of room for growth on paper. Seeing a meager 1.3 possessions per-game in the post (3rd last), and zero in isolation situations, Valanciunas wasn't asked to score with his back to the basket last season, especially in EuroLeague play. Part of the reason for that was his propensity to turn the ball over after receiving an entry pass, which he did at a 29% rate (1st). He flashed some basic post-moves in junior play, but still needs to develop a go-to-move and improve his physical strength. Additionally, Valanciunas attempted only 8 (of 427 total possessions) jumpers all season, although the fact that he did convert on 5 of those and shot 80% from the free throw line leaves some room for optimism.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jon ... z1QAQnTiVJ
http://www.draftexpress.com

[BillyGM]

The manager of Lietuvos Rytas - Jonas Vainauskas is a guy who follows cash. As I know Rytas has bad situation with money. Probably if Colangelo offers him 250k usd I think he would accept it as a buyout.
Jonas Valanciunas himself told that he wants to begin his NBA career the next season.

[J Dilla]

Hopefully Bargnani is on his way out. I cant take another season of that lazy bum.

Honest question, do you really see Colangelo trading away Bargnani?

I just don't see it. He trades Bargnani, he's admitting the mistake. Then people will question his decision to select Jonas (don't like the pick at all btw).

I think that BC at the end of the day will see the light. Maybe he gives this one more year. With Casey and his experience helping out a somewhat similar player in Dirk (in terms of styles) and them saying that they were going after a premier C in free agency. If it doesnt work out then Bargnani is probably gone.

But the people on facebook are raging lol

Don't have facebook, but there are lots of anti-colangelo tweets out there.

And lol, I wonder how short this press conference will be. The guy can barely speak. Most of the time will be used by Colangelo on selling the pick and how its beneficial for him to stay a year in Europe.

[KingstonRaptors]

The front court of Davis and Valanciunas has the chance to be very Randolph/Gasol like in my opinion.

Davis is nowhere near as good as Randolph offensively.

I lived in Windsor when Zach was playing at Michigan State, and I watched a lot of the games. He was raw, to put it bluntly. He had good hands around the basket, but didn't have the post moves you see him perform now. Heck, his play has mature tremendously the past couple of years, he's not trying to take people off the dribble . I don't see why Jonas' skill set couldn't improve either. He's only 19.

Bayless - 22 years old
DeMar - 21 years old
James Johnson - 24 years old
Ed Davis - 22 years old
Jonas Valanciunas - 19 years old
Andrea Bargnani - 25 years old
Amir Johnson - 24 years old

That's a young core that could be together for awhile. I'm liking where this team is heading. Let's hope the new coach can make this team play defense.

[Bankai]

Frank Zicarelli with a shot at Bargs:

In time, Jonas Valanciunas may evolve into the dominant post player many have envisioned for this gangly Lithuanian.

When he does, it’s conceivable Bryan Colangelo may no longer be around to remake, retool or reposition the Raptors.

Size, a soft touch around the basket, an ability to run the floor and the all-important, much-coveted athleticism, these are the quality Valanciunas will bring.

It’s too bad this kid can’t provide immediate relief on a Raptors team requiring help at virtually every position, save for seven-foot jump shooters who have an aversion to playing defence and rebounding the basketball.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/06/23/ra ... pick-right

[Visceral]

Add a Harrison Barnes or Myck Kabongo to that list and yeah... we are freaking solid. Put some hardy vets around that and you're playoff bound.

[Macho]

So did the people at Real Sports boo when the pick was announced?

[tdotrep2]

I want him hear asap but I think it's best if he stays over seas for 1 year bulks up and gets as much pt as possible, as well as make the buy-out easier. It's better than coming here and either playing limited minutes because hes a stick or having a possible lock-out.

[KingstonRaptors]

I want him hear asap but I think it's best if he stays over seas for 1 year bulks up and gets as much pt as possible, as well as make the buy-out easier. It's better than coming here and either playing limited minutes because hes a stick or having a possible lock-out.

BC made some good comments of trying to negotiate Jonas' contract and bringing him over here as soon as possible, moreso that the organization can help him develop and build his body right. Not sure how the European trainers are overseas, but NBA teams put lots of money into making the best product.

[Bankai]

I think he could very well stay in Europe for another year while he bulks up and continues to play and develop in the Euroleague if their is an NBA Lockout and he cant get a buyout on his contract. The Raptors get another high pick next year and bam, we might have Val and Myck Kabongo coming in after that and we are ready to roll.

[A_wildstabatanything]

But the people on facebook are raging lol

Would those same morons be bashing BC if he had picked Biyombo? Either way Val is a much better prospect.

Jonas and Kemba were the best players available @ 5 and it was pretty clear we were not going to take Walker.... so I can live with this. All the rumors had me believing he'd do something much worse.

[Rapsobsessed7]

DX said his buyout is 2.5 million

- Toronto can contribute 500,000 maximum to a buyout
- $3,248,112 is I think his salary if signed

So he could pay 2 million and still make 1.2 million. If he really does want to come over.

[Raps in 4]

I was at work so couldn't post here. I don't know what to think. I was really hoping we'd take Biyombo. I'm glad Knight and Walker were taken so late. They weren't even on our radar, or the radars of several teams it seems, and with good reason.

[Visceral]

DX said his buyout is 2.5 million

- Toronto can contribute 500,000 maximum to a buyout
- $3,248,112 is I think his salary if signed

So he could pay 2 million and still make 1.2 million. If he really does want to come over.

Wow, that is a massive buyout...

Is it not?

[Aventador]

So how is his defense? Or is he just another big body in the paint? If its the latter, hes kind of like a stick, and its not that big an obstacle. Is he mobile enough to move around and challenge shots? Maybe hedge some pics? I'm a bigger fan of biyombo for the fact he might be more nimble and agile to patrol the paint like a real defensive Center.