If you look at their numbers in their last league of Eurocup play, (both aged 20 I believe)Gasol is the better player. 18.5 ppg and grabbed 6.0 rpg, whereas Motiejunas scored 11 and 5.6 rpg- both played nearly identical mpg.... I looked this up because I am most concerned with Donatas' rebounding. Finding his average just below Gasol's last year with Barcelona is encouraging, considering Gasol's has become an above average rebounder and a wonderful player overall. While Motiejunas is certainly not a perfect prospect, there are signs there that he could be an extremely useful player, and perhaps even blossom into a level near Gasol's in 2-3 years- looks like a good move by Morey-
fair enough- I'm not implying he can become better than Gasol's peak- and I'm fine with that- either way, I'm excited to think he may become 75% of Gasol or more- he probably won't ever average double digit rebounds (as Gasol has done), but I think he may become a touch more versatile offensively in terms of scoring from everywhere and setting up teammates-
I think he was even younger, so the comparison would be less relevant IMO.... and I don't know that he played in Euroleague, as did both Gasol and Motiejunas-
Gasol was definitely MUCH MORE POLISHED than Donatas. And I think the question on Donatas' motor is legit. Well, that's why Gasol went 4th and Donatas 20th. To me Donatas is not a question of his ability. He has literally all the raw tools, both mental and physical, to be an all-star. To me it's a question about the Rockets developmental staff and their ability to develop him. He's more like TWill in terms of issues, and less like Hill or Thabeet, who I just feel aren't really basketball players.
So this guy isn't like Dirk 2.0? Man.. I heard 40% from 3 and saw the vid of him on the move and thought. OMG
one of the better picks of the night for banking on talent with upside. I think our organization would groom him well. its not like were minnesota and concede the season which poisons the young talent.
Gasol played in the Euroleague. Motiejunas played in the Eurocup. NBA : Euroleague D-League : Eurocup
Quit misleading. It is not that big of a difference. Benetton Treviso has had a Euroleauge license many times. They have a rich history. They are in and out of the Euroleague. And don't deny his Lithuanian upbringing. geeze dude. exaggerate much.
I have seen Donatas play quite a bit. He played inconsistently this year in the second best league in the world. I do not get the Gasol comparisons. Gasol is longer arm-wise and lankier. He is probably more agile with the ball in his hands (not putting it on the ground). However, Gasol could never shoot like Donatas could, or handle the ball as well. The odd thing to keep in mind is that last year his team tried to make him into a perimeter player. While he is a very gifted shooter, he is over 7ft tall, with a perfect frame to play inside... he is also a skilled post player. I think the rebounding will improve, and on defense he can be average or better if he wants to (he is very talented). He loves basketball and has a natural aptitude for the game, like Gasol and Dirk. However, the question with him is maturity.... he is light years behind Gasol, Dirk and other players... he is more on the level of Yi when he came from China. I can see why Morey is smitten with him, but he needs to grow up.
Benetton Treviso has been in and out... I am not at all concerned about the level of competition he faced playing for Benetton Treviso, especially at barely 20 years old. You and I both know the issue with him is maturity, it is a well known issue.
Give him 2-3 years to play like Gasol, then another 1-2 years to get the outside game of Dirk. Then we'll be real patient as he takes another 2 years to rebound and block shots like Hakeem. After that he will win about 5 mvps and lead us to 6 championships (one year the voters picked someone else because of European bias). He will succeed Kevin Mchale and assume the role of player coach.
I don`t have his stats... but they would be pretty useless. He played in Germanys second division... and even their first division isn`t really compareable to Euroleague.
It is a big difference between the first-tier Euroleague and the second-tier Eurocup. The Eurocup is not even as good as the better domestic leagues in Europe. Not only is Euroleague better than Eurocup, but also, domestic/regional leagues like Spain, Greece, Italy, Adriatic, VTB and maybe even Russia, are also better. The Eurocup is nothing more than a mid-tier European league. It's not even close to the level of the Euroleague. And don't even try to compare Barca (Pau's old team) to Treviso (Motiejunas' team). Barca is one of the handful of biggest clubs in the Euroleague, while Treviso is a mid-level team, just considering only the Italian League. To compare Eurocup stats with Treviso, to Euroleague stats with Barca, is completely invalid and flawed. The levels are simply not comparable.
Motiejunas played in the Italian League and the Eurocup. 1. NBA 2. Euroleague 3. ACB (Spain) 4. VTB (proxy former Soviet League) 5. HEBA (Greece) 6. ABA (proxy former Yugoslav League) 7. LEGA (Italy) 8. PBL (Russia) And then comes probably the Eurocup. So he played in something like the 7th and 9th best leagues in the world. Most definitely not in the second best league in the world.
