Jonas Valanciunas: 7-footer has the makings of a star

[Mr Grant Hill]

he has poor mans gasol written all over him

he's 20
in this league of scrub centers: easily star potential.

[Coach Smiley]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7Ex3bi6Gs[/youtube]

[princeofpalace]

I don't see Jonas V as a star, I think he's a Gortat level center. Any team would be lucky to have him but if he's your best player then you likely wont make the playoffs. I don't think this rookie class has much star power.

[JWiLL02]

I don't see Jonas V as a star, I think he's a Gortat level center. Any team would be lucky to have him but if he's your best player then you likely wont make the playoffs. I don't think this rookie class has much star power.

Gortat @ 20 wasn't half the player Jonas is now. JV is already a better shooter too.

[Inevitable]

Pau is a good potential comparison offensively. He shot around 80% from the line last year, has yet to miss this pre-season and is already developing a mid-range jump shot. He's also long, and mobile for a 7 footer.

[Blkbrd671]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7Ex3bi6Gs[/youtube]

As soon as i saw this, i knew the GB was going to blow up with some Val is going to be a amazing player threads. Can't blame you, we did the same thing with Drummond when he got 3 oops in one game. haha

[Johnlac1]

I watched a lot of Lietuvo Rytas and other JVal games last year. It looked like he had a lot of potential but was really raw on offense. He didn't seem to have a go-to move. He seems to have picked up that part of his game from last year to this year and now looks more promising on offense. He appears to understand the game very well for a rookie. If he can stay out of foul trouble he might average double-double this year.

[JWiLL02]

Yeah he's definitely developing that running right hook as a go to move. He has a great touch on it and with his quickness and length it's pretty tough to stop. I'm not sure if anyone outside of Dwight/Jordan/Drummond could block that, they'd have a tough time getting it before it's on the way down since he's basically dropping it in.

If he's able to develop good counters to the move, such as a drop step towards the baseline if the middle is cut off, to go along with his developing mid range game, he'll certainly be a dangerous offensive player.

He reminds me of what Big Z would have been like if he was 3 inches shorter and twice as mobile. They have that same soft touch and quick high shooting release.

[sisibilio]

Pau is a good potential comparison offensively. He shot around 80% from the line last year, has yet to miss this pre-season and is already developing a mid-range jump shot. He's also long, and mobile for a 7 footer.

The old Pau maybe, at 20 Pau was strictly a face up player who even played sometimes as a SF still.
Jonas has a wider frame and i'm sure will get bigger, i think he'll end up looking more like Howard than Pau. On the other hand he doesn't have the insane coordination and ball handling ability that Pau has for a guy his size, and he's nowhere near the passer Pau is.

[[SJJ]]

Goes without saying that I'm pretty high on this kid and for good reason...

I think his upside is a poor man's Pau Gasol offensively paired with Joakim Noah's defensive intensity. We shall see, he's just still so young.

[Omar CominYo]

I've been complaining about Devlin since he was in Memphis. He's awful and it's appalling how he keeps getting playoff and international games. It's not really the bad calls for me; the disassociation between his hysterical tone inflections and what's happening on the court is just unbearable.

Dumbest reason I've ever heard.... Hysterical tone inflections? How long did it take you to come up with that

[MrBigShot]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7Ex3bi6Gs[/youtube]

Matt Devlin has been atrocious for years; now he can't even get the names of his team players right. Vesely? C'mon.

I was watching this game without much attention and on mute (Devlin commentating oblige) and actually thought it was Bargnani doing that play. Double pump fake and 3 step drive.

lmao...he was also probably thinking of the other JV LOL

Anyway, i agree that he can be star, in the right situation.

[TwentyOne920]

All-Rookie First Team lock?

[bigbadstevenson]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7Ex3bi6Gs[/youtube]

Matt Devlin has been atrocious for years; now he can't even get the names of his team players right. Vesely? C'mon.

I was watching this game without much attention and on mute (Devlin commentating oblige) and actually thought it was Bargnani doing that play. Double pump fake and 3 step drive.

^Devlin is a good commentator, it's a shame that so many people hate him just because he has a few slip ups every now and then. The guy is the most knowledgable (not just about basketball, but all sports) commentator I've ever listened to and easily the best we've ever had. He always has something interesting to talk about during the game. Plus I don't see people whining about how horrible he is when he does playoff games for other teams.

Devlin does a good job during the playoffs. That's why people don't complain about him then. When he does Raptors games, however, you subjected to stuff like this (jump to 7:36):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBBTwg-KAqU[/youtube]

(This whole video is worth watching, by the way. How many other teams have a production crew this shi++y? Any challengers?)

Most of it, I imagine, isn't his fault. He gets cues from the director about when to talk about hockey and other nonsense. He's said so on air before. I don't consider either of them to be knowledgeable about other sports; it often seems like they just have a page of names and teams that they can bring up when told to. That stuff doesn't really matter to me, though. It doesn't take away from the viewing experience. What does take away from the viewing experience is when he starts influencing the camera crew. Whenever he mentions anyone visible to one of their cameras -- player, coach, fan, another camera man... -- we get a close up of him, whether the play is live or dead. The camera crew has its own problems, as evidenced by the above video. We see too little of the game as it is. The production team is downright incompetent and has no hope of rehabilitation into the society of respectable broadcasting. Devlin should be aware of this by now and just not mention anything that's not happening on the court.

Edit:

Back on topic: I think that Valanciunas could be/become one of the league's most reliable and accessible finishers. He seems effective when he has even a slight positional advantage inside. On whether he has the 1 on 1 post moves to get good position, the jury's still out, but we shouldn't have to wait too long to find out. He seems comfortable with the face-up game, and has the length to be a great passer. I see something like Andrew Bynum in him. Because he's white, he'll get a lot of Pau Gasol comparisons, but I think that he could be a little more imposing due to his size. Really, it's silly to make comparisons. When was the last time one of these predictions turned out to be useful? He'll be the next Jonas Valanciunas, and my best guess is that he'll have several seasons worthy of an all NBA team.

[guille_4]

IMO he has Pau Gasol potential. Coming into the league he's more athletic, runs the floor better and is stronger yet less offensively gifted, lower basketball IQ. I think he is going to surprise us all and given starter minutes will easily put 16/9/1,5 in his rookie season.

He will definitely be in the rotation playing solid minutes (At least 22). I can see him putting 10/6/1,2 in 22 minutes. I will definitely root for him, can't wait for the season to start!

[MaliBrah]

I've been complaining about Devlin since he was in Memphis. He's awful and it's appalling how he keeps getting playoff and international games. It's not really the bad calls for me; the disassociation between his hysterical tone inflections and what's happening on the court is just unbearable.

Dumbest reason I've ever heard.... Hysterical tone inflections? How long did it take you to come up with that

i hate devlin as well but this made me laugh ahahaha

[No Offense]

Yeah? Well he's no Tristan Thompson.

[advanced]

this thread will go well

so this is worth a suspension now?

note to self: do not mock the legitimacy of threads claiming a raptors player to be a superstar after a preseason game around raptors mods

Jonas will be a superstar!

[Hodges4Three]

The guy definitely has some crazy agility/coordination and speed for his height. He definitely has the tools to be a star, the question is will these tools be utilized/applied effectively to the game.

[Hodges4Three]

Pau is a good potential comparison offensively. He shot around 80% from the line last year, has yet to miss this pre-season and is already developing a mid-range jump shot. He's also long, and mobile for a 7 footer.

I don't see the comparison at all. Pau has poor athleticism/explosiveness. He has good footwork and fundamentals sure but just from the eye test you can see JV's athleticism is on another level from either of the Gasols.