Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Name: Donatas Montiejunas
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
Hgt: 7'0"
Wgt: 224
College/Country: Lithuania
Class: N/A
10-11 Stats: 27.3min 10.9pts (.441 .154 .620) 5.6reb 0.8ast 0.9stl 0.9blk 2.2TO
Projected Draft Position: #12-#16
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Kingfans Scouting Report:
Most people don't know alot about Motiejunas so I thought I'd share what I know. It's unlikely that we'll have a chance at him due to where we're picking and our needs, but I think he could end up being a very good player, although as always, there are some question marks.
Let's start off with the physical attributes. He's projected as a PF. He has great size, standing at a listed 7 feet tall, although he may be an inch or two shorter than that. Regardless, he has legit size. It's hard to guess how long his arms are, but they do look long. Not freakish long, but certainly not short. One of the knocks on Motiejunas last year was that he was so weak. Well, over the summer he put on at least 15lbs of good weight. His frame certainly has room for more, although he's not going to be Dwight Howard. Don't think weight will be a long term issue in the NBA as he clearly has the commitment to get in the weight room. He looks visibly stronger than he was a year ago so that bodes very well for the future.
Offensively, I love this guy. He is one of the best offensive big men in Europe and he is only 20 years old, which is quite an achievement. He is a lefty with very good form and range, so he can spread the floor. He does have an array of little post moves, although they're not refined quite yet. He's used a variety of little hooks over the year, using both hands. He uses the glass pretty well. Here is an area that will improve when he gets even stronger and is harder to push out of position. He's shown a soft touch on his shots. He put up 13ppg in the Italian League and 11ppg in the Cup. So he's a big part of his teams offense and he's been pretty efficient in that area, shooting 54% on two-point FGs and 43% from three (this % goes down in the Cup, but he played twice as many games in the league so this is a more accurate reading). He is a very smart basketball player with a high IQ. He looks very smooth and comfortable.
What people don't realise is that Motiejunas is a really special passer. It is dangerous to look at stats when judging a European player - it really doesn't tell you much. Stats are the last thing you should evaluate, your own eyes are always the best indicator. We've seen this time and time again. Donatas only averages about 1 assist per contest, but if you watch him play it becomes clear that he's a very talented passer. He has excellent vision for a big man, which is what reminds me of Vlade. His game overall isn't a perfect comparison for Vlade, but there are some similarities. You will see some of these passes in the video I post at the end.
Athletically, the guy is NOT a stiff. He's not a freak, but the guy is a very solid athlete for someone of his size. He runs the floor very well, looking fluid in the process, and although he won't be posterizing people regularly, he is capable of throwing down some nice dunks. In my opinion, I think he's a better athlete than both Dirk and Pau, while being around the same size. When you combine this with his size and ability to get stronger, I think he is a pretty good physical specimen. He has very good hands, he doesn't regularly fumble passes or mishandle the ball. It's difficult to get a read on his ball handling since he doesn't often have the ball on the perimeter, but from what I've seen it looks fine. He can certainly improve in that area. It's not a weakness, though. Not many guys his size can handle the ball very well.
Defensively, some have a problem with him. He sometimes looks like he's not trying hard enough or that he's not putting in maximum effort. However, to be fair, he has on occasion shown to be a decent help defender, coming over for blocks. At other times he's also shown alot of effort and hustle to get back on defense to make a play. So I by no means think he's hopeless defensively. I think it's an area he can be more than adequate at when you look at his size and length. He does need to get stronger and put on more weight, and this will help him defensively. The biggest red flag with Motiejunas is his rebounding. It's the age old European problem. He averages about 5 a game in 26 minutes, which isn't terrible, and isn't very good. It's somewhere in the middle for Europe. I do think at his peak he can average upwards of 8, but it is a question mark. There will be more space and shots in the NBA, and thus better rebounding opportunities, but he will need to get heavier and spend more time near the basket at the next level. It certainly wouldn't stop me drafting him if I was picking at the end of the lottery.
As far as personality / intangibles go, this is what makes me really like him. He's a very nice kid with a warm personality (I think this is what reminds me of Vlade as well). He's instantly likeable. He has a very high basketball IQ and he is a competitor. Some scouts express concern for a lack of fire, but I don't think this is the case. As he matures he will learn more. I don't think there's any doubt that he loves the game. He speaks perfect English and he's a pretty smart guy off the court.
Overall, I really do like Motiejunas. He's probably my favourite European, and that includes Kanter (who, in my opinion, only has the two advantages on Motiejunas - rebounding and strength), so you can see how much I like him. I don't think the Kings will even consider taking him since we have our bigs in place, and I'm not sure how good a fit he would be with Cousins (although it's a pairing I'd love to be able to experiment with). But I think he could be a very good player for some team, and he may end up being the best European from the draft. I certainly like him far more than I do Valanciunas, but some scouts must be seeing things that I'm not. There aren't many college big men I would take over him at this point if I'm honest. I believe he'll be a solid pick for a team in need of a scoring PF, and when it's all said and done, he could be one of the best players from the draft. It's up to him as far as I'm concerned - he has the talent and if he works hard there's no reason he can't be a very good player.
In summary, here's what you're looking at with Motiejunas:
Strengths:
Weaknesses
As always, youtube videos don't give you a good feel for the player. But just for those who aren't familiar with him, here's a video of some of his skillset and what he can do.
-- Courtesy of KF Scout Dime Dropper
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
Hgt: 7'0"
Wgt: 224
College/Country: Lithuania
Class: N/A
10-11 Stats: 27.3min 10.9pts (.441 .154 .620) 5.6reb 0.8ast 0.9stl 0.9blk 2.2TO
Projected Draft Position: #12-#16
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kingfans Scouting Report:
Most people don't know alot about Motiejunas so I thought I'd share what I know. It's unlikely that we'll have a chance at him due to where we're picking and our needs, but I think he could end up being a very good player, although as always, there are some question marks.
Let's start off with the physical attributes. He's projected as a PF. He has great size, standing at a listed 7 feet tall, although he may be an inch or two shorter than that. Regardless, he has legit size. It's hard to guess how long his arms are, but they do look long. Not freakish long, but certainly not short. One of the knocks on Motiejunas last year was that he was so weak. Well, over the summer he put on at least 15lbs of good weight. His frame certainly has room for more, although he's not going to be Dwight Howard. Don't think weight will be a long term issue in the NBA as he clearly has the commitment to get in the weight room. He looks visibly stronger than he was a year ago so that bodes very well for the future.
Offensively, I love this guy. He is one of the best offensive big men in Europe and he is only 20 years old, which is quite an achievement. He is a lefty with very good form and range, so he can spread the floor. He does have an array of little post moves, although they're not refined quite yet. He's used a variety of little hooks over the year, using both hands. He uses the glass pretty well. Here is an area that will improve when he gets even stronger and is harder to push out of position. He's shown a soft touch on his shots. He put up 13ppg in the Italian League and 11ppg in the Cup. So he's a big part of his teams offense and he's been pretty efficient in that area, shooting 54% on two-point FGs and 43% from three (this % goes down in the Cup, but he played twice as many games in the league so this is a more accurate reading). He is a very smart basketball player with a high IQ. He looks very smooth and comfortable.
What people don't realise is that Motiejunas is a really special passer. It is dangerous to look at stats when judging a European player - it really doesn't tell you much. Stats are the last thing you should evaluate, your own eyes are always the best indicator. We've seen this time and time again. Donatas only averages about 1 assist per contest, but if you watch him play it becomes clear that he's a very talented passer. He has excellent vision for a big man, which is what reminds me of Vlade. His game overall isn't a perfect comparison for Vlade, but there are some similarities. You will see some of these passes in the video I post at the end.
Athletically, the guy is NOT a stiff. He's not a freak, but the guy is a very solid athlete for someone of his size. He runs the floor very well, looking fluid in the process, and although he won't be posterizing people regularly, he is capable of throwing down some nice dunks. In my opinion, I think he's a better athlete than both Dirk and Pau, while being around the same size. When you combine this with his size and ability to get stronger, I think he is a pretty good physical specimen. He has very good hands, he doesn't regularly fumble passes or mishandle the ball. It's difficult to get a read on his ball handling since he doesn't often have the ball on the perimeter, but from what I've seen it looks fine. He can certainly improve in that area. It's not a weakness, though. Not many guys his size can handle the ball very well.
Defensively, some have a problem with him. He sometimes looks like he's not trying hard enough or that he's not putting in maximum effort. However, to be fair, he has on occasion shown to be a decent help defender, coming over for blocks. At other times he's also shown alot of effort and hustle to get back on defense to make a play. So I by no means think he's hopeless defensively. I think it's an area he can be more than adequate at when you look at his size and length. He does need to get stronger and put on more weight, and this will help him defensively. The biggest red flag with Motiejunas is his rebounding. It's the age old European problem. He averages about 5 a game in 26 minutes, which isn't terrible, and isn't very good. It's somewhere in the middle for Europe. I do think at his peak he can average upwards of 8, but it is a question mark. There will be more space and shots in the NBA, and thus better rebounding opportunities, but he will need to get heavier and spend more time near the basket at the next level. It certainly wouldn't stop me drafting him if I was picking at the end of the lottery.
As far as personality / intangibles go, this is what makes me really like him. He's a very nice kid with a warm personality (I think this is what reminds me of Vlade as well). He's instantly likeable. He has a very high basketball IQ and he is a competitor. Some scouts express concern for a lack of fire, but I don't think this is the case. As he matures he will learn more. I don't think there's any doubt that he loves the game. He speaks perfect English and he's a pretty smart guy off the court.
Overall, I really do like Motiejunas. He's probably my favourite European, and that includes Kanter (who, in my opinion, only has the two advantages on Motiejunas - rebounding and strength), so you can see how much I like him. I don't think the Kings will even consider taking him since we have our bigs in place, and I'm not sure how good a fit he would be with Cousins (although it's a pairing I'd love to be able to experiment with). But I think he could be a very good player for some team, and he may end up being the best European from the draft. I certainly like him far more than I do Valanciunas, but some scouts must be seeing things that I'm not. There aren't many college big men I would take over him at this point if I'm honest. I believe he'll be a solid pick for a team in need of a scoring PF, and when it's all said and done, he could be one of the best players from the draft. It's up to him as far as I'm concerned - he has the talent and if he works hard there's no reason he can't be a very good player.
In summary, here's what you're looking at with Motiejunas:
Strengths:
- Excellent size - 7 feet tall.
- Offensive potential - shooting, post moves.
- Impressive passing skills.
- Soft hands.
- High basketball IQ
- Personality
- Productive at young age in tough league
Weaknesses
- Defensive effort
- Questionable motor/desire?
- Needs to put on weight
- Rebounding
As always, youtube videos don't give you a good feel for the player. But just for those who aren't familiar with him, here's a video of some of his skillset and what he can do.
-- Courtesy of KF Scout Dime Dropper
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