Jonas Valanciunas Summer Discussion II

[MEDIC]

He just needs to add Chandlers muscle.

Chandler doesnt exactly have a big physique himself. Jonas just needs to get stronger not necessarily bulk up muscle wise. It takes time for that though. Go work in construction for a while.

I didn't say Chandler was a big guy, but he was noticably thicker/ more muscular than Jonas. That's how skinny Jonas currently is.

Jonas definitely needs to bulk up a little AND add strength. His body is too slight for post play.

[MEDIC]

I missed the game, but based on the comments from everyone...it looks like Jonas V is a project big on the elite basketball stage....it will take him time to develop....Jonas's rookie year will be all about 'development'

That's the same for all rookies. This game was no more a yardstick than any other in the past several months. Anthony Davis didn't even play.

Exactly. I'm pretty sure our fans realize that rookies spend their first few seasons developing. Jonas won't be any different from what we've seen out of Bargnani and Ed in their rookie years. We'll see some encouraging stuff, we'll see some frustrating stuff. He's 20 years old.

Yeah, but there were some people in Raptors management that were suggesting that Jonas may be more NBA ready than people think.

Jonas has "some" skill, but he looks kinda lost out there at times. He's a kid playing a man's game.

His strengths are his mobility, length & his understanding of the pick n'roll right now. Not a whole lot else.

It's going to be a tough/ tough year for Jonas. Young kid from a small country moving to North America. He's going to be homesick. I'm sure there will be days when he just wants to pack things in & go home.

It's definitely going to take 2+ seasons. He'll be similar, but less polished than Amir when Amir first came to the Raptors.

[Dalek]

Yeah, but there were some people in Raptors management that were suggesting that Jonas may be more NBA ready than people think.

Jonas has "some" skill, but he looks kinda lost out there at times. He's a kid playing a man's game.

His strengths are his mobility, length & his understanding of the pick n'roll right now. Not a whole lot else.

It's going to be a tough/ tough year for Jonas. Young kid from a small country moving to North America. He's going to be homesick. I'm sure there will be days when he just wants to pack things in & go home.

It's definitely going to take 2+ seasons. He'll be similar, but less polished than Amir when Amir first came to the Raptors.

See, the only thing that flies in the face of that is that Jonas played well in the Euros last year, playing well against Noah, Kaman, Dirk etc. He also played in a men`s league the past year. So I wouldn`t think he is in for a shock or hard times. He just needs to have a coach who won`t be quick to pull him out. This tourney he is playing tentative because his coach gives him a quick hook. Trust means everything with player development.

[Clutch Carter]

You can't really judge anything off this current stint. It's obvious the coach is determined to only play him ~10 minutes a game for whatever reason.

[rmnts]

[MEDIC]

You can't really judge anything off this current stint. It's obvious the coach is determined to only play him ~10 minutes a game for whatever reason.

I'm not just going by minutes played. I'm going on what I'm seeing out there.

He just doesn't look comfortable. Looks lost at times.

Maybe it's partly the coach. Maybe not.

Next year he will be making a lot of adjustments. New country, new city, new league, new rules, new organization, new teammates, new expectations..........much higher level competition......

Can you imagine what it's going to be like for him, his first game at the ACC? Talk about nerves.

Has there ever been a young European prospect that came into the league & smoothly made the transition his first year? Caleron was terrible his first season & he was a few years older than Jonas.

[JWiLL02]

Rubio did it last year and Gasol did it as well.

Seriously, Rubio didn't come to mind!?

[MEDIC]

Rubio did it last year and Gasol did it as well.

Seriously, Rubio didn't come to mind!?

Rubio is kind of a special case. We've been hearing about him for so long. Seems like the kid should be at least 26 by now.

Good call on Gasol.

I do think Jonas will be much better off just getting over here & getting started on his NBA career. The sooner he gets acclimatized, the better.

[JWiLL02]

I don't see any sense in reading into his Olympic performance when his situation will be so much different over here. I don't see it as a negative either, he needs a change of scenery and the NBA game suits his style of play perfectly.

I think the NBA ready talk had much to do with his ability to finish at a high rate. His offensive game is obviously far from complete, but the efficiency will be there from day one.

I can see Colangelo ignoring Jose's trade demands and keeping him around just to run pick and rolls with Jonas in the second unit. Letting him walk for nothing next summer just so he can make Val look good as a rook seems like a BC thing to do.

[miruss2001]

He will be just fine

[theycallmeZZ]

Imagine if BC amnestied Kleiza before this game, people would be calling for BC's head on that move (if they weren't already) once he dropped 25 on the US.

[Dennis 37]

Imagine if BC amnestied Kleiza before this game, people would be calling for BC's head on that move (if they weren't already) once he dropped 25 on the US.

I was thinking when watching, what if Kleiza was a free agent and not a Raptor? This board would be flooded with, "Kleiza is the answer to our SF deficiency. 25 points against the best in the NBA! Get er done BC!"

[JV4MVP]

A lot of Jonas hate on the general board: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1199746

That forum is fiesty place filled with too many sharks. It's an unmoderated jungle.

[JV4MVP]

Imagine if BC amnestied Kleiza before this game, people would be calling for BC's head on that move (if they weren't already) once he dropped 25 on the US.

I was thinking when watching, what if Kleiza was a free agent and not a Raptor? This board would be flooded with, "Kleiza is the answer to our SF deficiency. 25 points against the best in the NBA! Get er done BC!"

Kleiza is underrated by the Raptors but at the end of the day Toronto has a stagnant offense which plays to his weakness. Kleiza is productive when he gets the ball in the post, shots a midrange shot off the curl or has an open three. As an iso player he is awful. And then you have a momentum killing PG in Jose who provides no ball movement and DD is another blackhole who only looks for his own offense.

I wouldn't mind if Kleiza got amnestied because he would get picked up by a team such as the Spurs in a heartbeat and would be utilized more efficiently. He''s an offensive spark, one of the best rebounders at SF and is mentally tough. He can come off the bench for many contending teams and do damage. Toronto and their style of play is not for him... he's not utilized correctly and tries to do too much (iso).

[Coach Smiley]

release a player because you're too dumb to use him correctly, ok... face it the people here usually don't know what the hell they're talking about when it comes to player evaluations, Jose and Kleiza have always been scapegoats here but they don't deserve half of the criticism they get

[kalel123]

I didn't watch the games but from looking at statlines, the fact that he keeps starting then playing so few minutes, I'm thinking his coach's mind-f***ing this kid and he needs to get the heck outta there ASAP.

Why the f*** do you start him if you aren't gonna play him consistently throughout the game. No 20-year old is gonna survive that kind of BS especially in a stage as big as this. I don't care who you are. It's downright embarassing the way he's being treated. If winning is so important and you don't think he's ready, then make him come off the bench and play as many or as little minutes as necessary. In fact, that's what I expected since he's the youngest guy out there and I see plenty of young guys including him out in Euro leagues not playing as minutes as they perhaps should, with coaches often opting to play older guys. This could f*** with his confidence for a while at least.

I'm thinking the only reason he's starting is because he's supposed to be the next NBA star of the country and the coach's bosses want him to. But then coach doesn't like it so he's looking for any excuse to get him off the floor and does the first chance he gets.

Now, I realize I may be speaking out of turn since I did not watch the games. But just common logic and past history suggests, he's been set up to fail here by his coach. Raptors need to bring him here as soon as this is over and make sure to get him in right state of mind.

[KingstonRaptors]

I didn't watch the games but from looking at statlines, the fact that he keeps starting then playing so few minutes, I'm thinking his coach's mind-f***ing this kid and he needs to get the heck outta there ASAP.

Why the f*** do you start him if you aren't gonna play him consistently throughout the game. No 20-year old is gonna survive that kind of BS especially in a stage as big as this. I don't care who you are. It's downright embarassing the way he's being treated. If winning is so important and you don't think he's ready, then make him come off the bench and play as many or as little minutes as necessary. In fact, that's what I expected since he's the youngest guy out there and I see plenty of young guys including him out in Euro leagues not playing as minutes as they perhaps should, with coaches often opting to play older guys. This could f*** with his confidence for a while at least.

I'm thinking the only reason he's starting is because he's supposed to be the next NBA star of the country and the coach's bosses want him to. But then coach doesn't like it so he's looking for any excuse to get him off the floor and does the first chance he gets.

Now, I realize I may be speaking out of turn since I did not watch the games. But just common logic and past history suggests, he's been set up to fail here by his coach. Raptors need to bring him here as soon as this is over and make sure to get him in right state of mind.

The US was playing a lot of small ball. At times, Songaila was their centre. Either way, Jonas did look lost at times, he definitely has work to do with be ready to receive the ball, poor hands. Not many sets were called for him though, and the ones that were, the guard turned the ball over with stupid passes.

[JWiLL02]

I actually think Kleiza is going to benefit most from playing next to Lowry, he's an excellent target for a drive and kick PG like Kyle.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Lowry-Ross-Kleiza being our most effective perimeter rotation. It would be the first time we have two knockdown catch and shoot corner 3pt shooters since Mo Pete and AP. Effective corner 3pt shooters open up the court so much, I really think our offense is going to make a big leap this year due to Lowry's strengths as a PG.

[JV4MVP]

release a player because you're too dumb to use him correctly, ok... face it the people here usually don't know what the hell they're talking about when it comes to player evaluations, Jose and Kleiza have always been scapegoats here but they don't deserve half of the criticism they get

I was giving Kleiza props and as a fan of int'l basketball I know his capability and want him to succeed. It's sad but Toronto is not for him and I rather see him do well elsewhere. If Val wasn't here it would be ideal. It's only a 4M contract so it's not bad.

[blocked]

I actually think Kleiza is going to benefit most from playing next to Lowry, he's an excellent target for a drive and kick PG like Kyle.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Lowry-Ross-Kleiza being our most effective perimeter rotation. It would be the first time we have two knockdown catch and shoot corner 3pt shooters since Mo Pete and AP. Effective corner 3pt shooters open up the court so much, I really think our offense is going to make a big leap this year due to Lowry's strengths as a PG.

I absolutely agree with you on this - it looks like Raptors team is coming together. It is hard to judge about Val's role in this overall picture, because his incredibly dependent on good coaching. Let's hope Raptors got some. If so, people will be very excited around January...