Jonas Valanciunas: Are you Happy with the Pick?

[Built Ford Tough]

Pretty simple question.

 

Are you happy with the Raptors drafting Valanciunas at 5?

 

There are definitely some mixed reactions on this pick and I have to believe that a part of that is because of him being a European player and the possibility of him not even playing for the Raptors next year.

[Jenneral]

I feel like him possibly not playing next year shouldn't affect your thoughts on the pick. The Raptors won't be competing next season regardless.

 

With that said, I like the pick.

[Clutch]

for now its not a bad pick, but just the fact that BC picked another european is kinda annoying half the city lol - everyone has the exact same status on fb right now..its pretty funny

[Built Ford Tough]

for now its not a bad pick, but just the fact that BC picked another european is kinda annoying half the city lol - everyone has the exact same status on fb right now..its pretty funny

 

I think it is absolutely retarded.

 

The guy was considered to be the 4th best prospect in the draft, possibly the 3rd depending on who you talk to, but because he is European he is going to be a bust.

 

I guarantee that nobody would have a problem with this pick if he was an American. I've yet to hear a valid argument against the pick as everything is about how he is a European.

Edited June 24, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Clutch]

well he also said he's like chris bosh..lol

 

LIKE A BOSH

[Built Ford Tough]

well he also said he's like chris bosh..lol

 

LIKE A BOSH

 

The best was the response after that.

 

Jones: "How are you like Bosh?"

 

Val: "I'm weak. Need to get stronger"

 

:lol:

 

You could tell that the guy was really uncomfortable with that interview. He had another one off camera and he sounded a lot better than he did when he was drafted.

 

PS: People are going absolutely nuts right now. All of the idiot casual fans are absolutely shitting on Colangelo for drafting a European. He seems to be getting really pissed off and sick of defending his selection, and it has only been about 4 hours lol.

[Check my Stats]

Love the pick, solidifies the fact we are committed to a legitimate rebuild and won't be trying to fix it all by next year. Also confirms that Bargnani will be traded in the next 18 months (I hope).

[AboveLegit]

I think it was a great pick. He has a great work ethic from what I've been reading, loves to battle in the paint, and he's got a great touch around the basket. I preferred Toronto drafting Biyombo, I think everyone on here knows my obsession with him, but this was probably the second best option for them. He shoots at a great rate from the FT line, so I'm sure that will translate to his midrange game making him a more well rounded center.

 

Secondly, I'm not a huge fan of Brandon Knight. I don't think that's what you want to build your team around, it's a smart move by Colangelo.

 

I also think if Ed Davis can prove to play starter minutes, a frontcourt of Jonas/Ed would be great defensively.

[Flash]

I would've gone with Kemba or BK..but its not a bad pick.

[Dash]

Brandon Knight would have been a good pick but Jonas Valanciunas is a GREAT pick. If I'm a Raptors fan I'm very excited about the possibilities with a frontcourt of Ed Davis and Jonas.

[Real Deal]

The only way I can say this is a great move is if the Raptors make a trade to bring in a legit point guard. Otherwise, you guys just passed up three guards that create so much attention, everyone else in Toronto would benefit from it, and that's the difference between those guys, and Jose Calderon.

 

I definitely wouldn't mind being wrong about Jonas, though...could be a decent player, but I just don't get the feeling he can be a bad ass down low.

[Dash]

The only way I can say this is a great move is if the Raptors make a trade to bring in a legit point guard. Otherwise, you guys just passed up three guards that create so much attention, everyone else in Toronto would benefit from it, and that's the difference between those guys, and Jose Calderon.

 

I definitely wouldn't mind being wrong about Jonas, though...could be a decent player, but I just don't get the feeling he can be a bad ass down low.

 

Eh I didn't think any of the point guards in this class besides Irving were better prospects than Valanciunas. Raptors could draft a point guard next year in a much deeper class.

[Built Ford Tough]

The only way I can say this is a great move is if the Raptors make a trade to bring in a legit point guard. Otherwise, you guys just passed up three guards that create so much attention, everyone else in Toronto would benefit from it, and that's the difference between those guys, and Jose Calderon.

 

I definitely wouldn't mind being wrong about Jonas, though...could be a decent player, but I just don't get the feeling he can be a bad ass down low.

 

Three guards? Who is the third one? Knight, Walker and...

 

To be perfectly honest, even though I liked Knight a lot (would've been fine with him at 5 even if Valanciunas was there, although Val was who I was hoping for), I don't even think he is that much better of a prospect than Bayless is. He certainly is younger, has better size and has a much better jumper, but as a whole I don't think that he is a much better prospect than Bayless is, especially considering how well Bayless played at the end of last season. Who knows if that is the real Bayless or if he was just on a hot streak, but I would like to find out. That is why I was so bothered by the fact that the Raptors didn't give him free reign with about 20 games left in the season to see what he could do.

 

I'd rather give Bayless a shot and have Valanciunas in the organization, even if he won't be with the team next year, than having to basically ship out Bayless to make room for Knight because there would not be room on the team for both of them.

 

I don't necessarily think that the Raptors should be in that big of a rush to make some huge move and bring in a legit point guard either. As much as I don't like Calderon, he will contribute to the Raptors being a crappy team next year and because of that, they will hopefully get a great draft pick and potentially land a franchise calibre player like Quincy Miller, Harrison Barnes, Michael Gilchrist or Anthony Davis. As much as I like DeRozan and Davis, neither one of them are going to be the best players on a championship calibre team.

 

I wouldn't have been upset with Knight or Walker by any means, but I am glad that Colangelo didn't take the safe route and went with the high upside player like Valanciunas. I think he would've been a top 3 pick if there weren't buyout concerns with him and the fact that so many teams were intersted in moving up to acquire him, particularly San Antonio who is the best drafting franchise in the league as far as I am concerned, makes me like the pick even more.

 

There are definitely some huge risks with this though, I don't deny that for a second. Valanciunas can become a more gifted offensively Tyson Chandler or Joakim Noah, but he could also become an Andris Biedrins. I think it is a risk worth taking, though.

[Real Deal]

Jimmer. Not saying they should've taken him, of course, but I just can't get over the Raptors not taking a point guard when they had a chance, even if Irving wasn't available. I don't need to explain the first two (Kemba and Knight), but Jimmer would even draw more attention than Jonas.

 

As far as getting a good pick for next season goes...you think the Raptors would do any better if they had Knight? For the Raptors, I think Kemba actually makes the bigger impact just because he is nasty quick and can get his own buckets whenever he wants. Knight may need 2-3 years to turn into a borderline all-star (or better).

 

I guess we'll see the impact Jonas will make in two years. Kanter, Valanciunas, Vesely, Motiejunas...wouldn't be surprised if two of the four are complete busts, maybe three.

[Built Ford Tough]

Absolutely no way that Fredette should've been in the discussion for the Raptors pick. I can understand if somebody think that passing on Kemba or Knight for him was a questionable decision, but Jimmer? Even if he ends up being the best player to come out of this draft, I don't think anybody can realistically say that the Raptors made a terrible decision by taking Valanciunas over him. I'm not saying that you are implying that the Raptors should've went with him or anything like that, just that there is simply no way that he should even be mentioned, at least as far as I am concerned.

 

Personally, I don't think that any of the point guards in this draft are a big enough upgrade over Bayless both in terms of what they would give the team next season as well as their potential to pass up the chance of getting a starting center for the next 10 years, especially considering the fact that the Raptors have basically never had a legitimate center in their entire history, unless you count a 100 year old Hakeem Olajuwon.

 

Will Valanciunas develop into that guy? Who knows. I'd hate to pass up the chance at drafting one for two players who are likely to be solid role players, but nothing special, though. Valanciunas has star potential, granted it is unlikely he ever becomes a star, at least there is a chance of it.

 

In a weak draft, you might as well swing for the fences and I think that the Raptors did that here. I'm just glad that it wasn't Biyombo that they decided to take a chance on because I think he is going to be the big bust of this draft. I think his defense is overblown and his offense is just brutal to watch.

 

PS: My comment about them going after a point guard was more along the lines of them using some assets like the TPE, Bayless and Davis/Johnson to go out and make a trade for one. You mentioned that you thought the only way that you could call this a great pick was if they went out and traded for a PG, so my comment was in response to that. I don't think that Knight or Kemba would make a big enough impact to cost them a good draft pick, but if they went out and got a fringe All-Star calibre point guard, that certainly could hurt their draft stock especially if DeRozan takes another large step in his development.

Edited June 24, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Doc]

I was shocked at first but I'm loving the pick now. Getting one of the best players (not saying much) in the draft and showing they want to rebuild. This also gives the signals to Bargs saying, if he doesn't change his game, good bye because Valanciunas (Rap fans need to get this kid a nickname already so I can early pronounce/spell it) could easily fill his spot.

[BasX]

I just call him Joe Jonas... (terrible i know)

 

Anyway I wasn't a fan of the pick at first but I thought he was going to the Cavs for sure so I never really had time to process us getting him. I like it, especially since this team will still suck next year and should acquire a nice additional piece.

[Built Ford Tough]

The backlash of this pick is just hilarious.

 

On one hand you have all of the casual Raptor fans screaming for Colangelo's head for drafting another European player.

 

On the other hand you have a bunch of guys saying that this was a fantastic pick, some like Ric Bucher even going as far as to say that this was the steal of the draft.

[Inspector]

I think Jonas will be a borderline All Star for the majority of his career. A very tall player who can run the floor and play solid post defense. He's athletic, as in he can run and jump and dunk explosively to the rim. He's going to be able to somewhat compensate for Andrea's lack of rebounding and sloppy defense. I'm expecting a lot of tip ins and aggressive rebounds off the glass, while his shooting can complement Bargnani so they can be a twin tower force full of jump shooting. I see him as a rich mans Hawes, or maybe even a poor mans Dirk Nowitzki at the four.

[Built Ford Tough]

He had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in 25 minutes today in an exhibition game against the USA's U-20 team. Not bad considering he hasn't really played much and hasn't practiced with the team at all considering how busy he was with the draft.

 

Oh yeah, he absolutely dominated Patric Young (Florida center, projected lottery pick, possible top 10 pick this upcoming season). Young only put up 6 points and 6 boards (only 2 points and 2 boards while Valanciunas was in the game).

 

The U-20 team isn't particularly good, but it is still prettty impressive how well Jonas played considering the circumstances.

[The Artesticle]

I have a question about this pick. I was reading about him recently and it seems like he is weak defensively. I've read that he was out muscled quite a bit in Europe. I know he's only 19 so he'll add more muscle to his frame, but is drafting a center with defensive deficiencies really the best move when you have Bargnani playing at power forward? It seems like they'll be two revolving doors and teams will eat them up in the paint, since neither are known for their force on defense. And neither provide much of a presence.

 

Or maybe I'm completely off base here since I also heard JV is a good shot blocker.

Edited July 11, 2011 by The Artesticle

[Check my Stats]

I think JV is going to struggle defensively at first positionally, mainly because of his strength, unless he puts on more muscle in the next year than I expect him to. He seems to get in quite a bit of foul trouble, but he has great length and seems to have good instincts defensively. I think his deficiencies defensively are more a result of his frame right now, and being outmuscled liked you said, rather than disinterest and lack of instincts like someone like Kanter, for example. He looks like a future guy who can protect the rim for us and man the boards. But yeah, positionally I think he might have issues early on.

 

He seems to want to get better, and dominated inferior competition in the U19 tournament, so I have high hopes for this kid now, and if this tourney happened before the draft, no chance he falls past Cleveland, and he might even go a bit higher.

 

But I'll wait to let BFT weigh in, he definitely is more educated on Val (I think), I have definitely been slacking since the lockout started

 

Also, maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think the drafting of JV might be leading to use showing Bargs the door. I agree that is a definite concern, but I see JV being the best rim protector we've had in a very long time. JV and Ed Davis as the starting bigs honestly makes me very excited, two very competent defensive players who can protect the rim, nice change of pace.

Edited July 11, 2011 by Check my Stats

[Built Ford Tough]

CMS was pretty much spot on with his analysis, but I figure I might as well throw in my two cents as well.

 

If you had to classify him as either an offensive or defensive oriented player, he would be classified as a defensive one. Some people just like to think that he is a poor defender because he only played 15 minutes a game for Rytas last season, fouls a lot and, as much as it is annoying to say this, because he is European.

 

His defensive instincts are really good and he understands where he needs to be on the court at all times. He is very sound positionally and is a good shotblocker. The vast majority of his problems on the defensive end is that he is still developing physically and gives up a lot of strength to most of his competition. You have to remember that he was 18 years old playing against grown men this past season so he was severely outmatched strength wise. He got pushed around very easily down low by most of the competition and he tried to compensate for this by playing overly aggressive, which resulted in him picking up a lot of fouls, which in turn gave him the reputation (by some) as a poor defensive player. The thing is that the fouls weren't because he was in poor defensive position or has a poor basketball iq or anything like that.

 

He has solid defensive fundamentals, it is just a matter of him needing to put on muscle and add some strength. I wouldn't be too worried about him being a revolving door defensively or anything like that at all because I expect most of his contributions in the NBA are going to be on the defensive end of the floor, as well as on the glass as he is an outstanding rebounder.

 

I mentioned this earlier in the year in the draft thread that we had going on throughout the season, but the rate that Valanciunas rebounded the basketball was higher than Dwight Howard and just below Kevin Love.

 

Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania, 19.2 years, 210cm

 

Valanciunas was the face of this tournament, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise for those who watched him play last season and studied his stats, correction, the right stats. Of all 192 players present in Latvia, Valanciunas had played in the far & away best competition the season before. And while 5.8 rebounds per game don’t look like a whole lot to the untrained eye, in just 15.2 minutes per game and at a slow game pace, they are exceptional: Percentage-wise, he was rebounding at a rate slightly below Kevin Love and slightly better than Dwight Howard. Valanciunas carried that over to Latvia, dominating a much weaker competition with his rebounding, mobility, shotblocking, soft touch inside and most importantly, his unquenchable thirst for the ball.

 

http://www.in-the-game.org/?p=14644

 

He isn't going to come in and immediately be a force on the defensive end because his lack of strength is going to be even more of an issue in the NBA, similar to the adjustment that guys like Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah faced when they first came into the league, but I definitely think that by the time he fills out and gets some more experience under his belt that he is going to be a good defensive center.

 

I'd actually be more worried about him on the offensive end of the floor than the defensive end. Outside of putbacks, lobs and easy baskets around the rim, he isn't particularly skilled offensively. His post game is pretty robotic and he has no confidence in his left hand at all right now. He shows glimpses of some nice offensive moves, but you can also tell that some of the stuff he was doing in the U19's wouldn't fly in the Euroleague, let alone the NBA. He has solid fundamentals in that he keeps the ball high at all times, sets solid picks and is a very good free throw shooter (which is usually a good indicator of a guy being able to develop a mid range shot) but I definitely would be more worried about his offensive production outside of easy baskets.

 

Of course it is still very hard to judge him considering he is still only 19 years old, nobody really knew much about him (other than Givony at DX who first saw him when he was like 15) before this season and you never really know how a player is going to adjust when making the jump from Europe to the NBA. He will never be a star or anything like that, but I do think that if all goes well he can develop into a good starting center similar to a Joakim Noah or Tyson Chandler (not as good as them, but the same kind of impact).

 

Seeing how he plays in Eurobasket at the end of August (assuming he makes the team) will be much more telling about his game than anything he did during the U19's.

[The Great iBoldin]

I watched Valanciunas exclusively in that American game you posted on Youtube, and you can tell this kid is going to be good. I'm listening to Dwayne Casey interview on the Fan 590 I believe (whatever radio show is on Sportsnet in the evening) and the way Casey talks about how you carry yourself, personality traits, hard work and the right attitude makes me believe JV will be an all-star while he's with Toronto.

 

You see Valanciunas "gets it" on defense. His footwork is very nice, he's very long and moves well. He's physical and that's seemingly how he seems to pick up those fouls. It's just the little things he does. He leads his defenders into traffic when he's closing out. His head is always on a swivel, active in rotations. I love that Toronto picked this kid up, because he's going to be a very good player. Plus BFT has really pumped JV up haha.