Rockets deal Brad Miller, #23, 2013 MEM pick, $ for Jonny Flynn, Motiejunas, 2012 2nd

Like I said in the other thread, for a guy who hasn't played basketball in 2 years, that actually improved his stock. A guy like Motiejunas who actually improved in the past year, he gets dropped to 20. Makes a little sense though. I guess he didn't turn into a superstar or improve as much as the scouts wanted to see. However, by that standard, I doubt many of the guys drafted high this year will have much success either.

 

My question sort of got lost in my exhibition of idiocy earlier....Does Johnny Flynn have any one-on-one closer-like abilities? I don't know anything about his game. I was sort of hoping he'd be a little Marcus Thornton-like.......

 

I don't know much about Flynn either, but I do know that Flynn is 5 inches shorter than Thornton, and speed is his best attribute.

 

From what I remember reading his workouts/tryouts predraft weren't that strong either. So furtunately for us, because of these poor showings, he fell in the draft which allowed us to have the opportunity to draft him.

For each guy that sees his stock fall in the draft due to a poor workout (Motiejunas), there is alos that workout warrior that see's his rise and moves a few spots for us. I'm just glad we got the opportunity on this type of boom or bust project.

 

I'm worried now...if he modeled his game after MoTaylor's .

 

He didn't model his game after him,but he is a softy.

 

Its not really just the workouts/tryouts, scouts got to watch him a whole year and weren't enamored with his work ethic and passion for the game. Not sure how accurate those are but considering how cocky he was in the interviews he might have a bit of ego issue.

He did manage to bulk up though, and that kind of improvement from a stick-like player before seems to me like he does work on his game somewhat. The very first thing players do is try to gain mass to bang inside better, and when someone doesn't have passion for the game it takes them a long time for them to fill out (i.e. Darko). At least we know he's a gym rat at the very least so that's good.

 

The only issue I have with him is with PP and Scola being set in the F spot we might force him to be a C. I know his draft profile is PF/C but his game really is more suited to be an F, centers don't really shoot long jumpers. Obviously he's not at the same level but imagine if we had a rookie dirk and we forced him to play C just because he's 7 ft tall. I'm just worried that because of the depth we have the at F spot we're going to expose his flaws just like what happened with Hill. I mean, the dude scored 15 and 6 (on average) when we played him at F but then cratered the next season when he was forced to play C.

 

Jordan Hill averaged 15 and 6?

 

I don't know about the previous year, but Hill was 13/10 on PER 36 this past season. Yeah, I know, that isn't the whole set of skills he needs.

 

Oh, ok per 36.

 

Flynn can also move to the two guard if needed in spurts but his natural spot is at the 1.

 

If this is the basis for your worries, then you can stop worrying. His offensive game is best in the paint. He has excellent inside footwork. He may be able to shoot from outside and it may be how he's played in the past, but his inside game is much more polished than his outside game. He can play center. If he had spent more time playing inside than outside the past two seasons, then his offensive rebounding numbers would have been higher as well.

All he's missing is a little more bulk to be successful banging down low in the NBA.

 

I really don't want Monti playing Center for us. It's a disservice to him and the team.

We need a real center that concentrates on defense and rebounding. Monti's game is fantastic and a Forward and he's a mismatch for Power forwards guarding him on the perimeter. Let him come off the bench for Scola and be a real stretch 4.

 

Hey guys, Kings fan here. I'm from Europe, so I got to see Motiejunas play a few times. Over on a Kings forum, we have a few guys (including myself) who watch a lot of college basketball, and a couple who get to see international basketball. So as a project we did a KingsFans scouting report type thing for other kings fans who wanted to know more about prospects in the lead-up to the draft.

I did a report on Moteijunas (as well as Vesely and Biyombo), who I like a lot. I joined the forum to see if anyones interested, I can post it if you guys want. I'm sure most of you have an idea of what his game is like at this point, but my report may shed some light on other aspects of his game that you're not all aware of. Obviously the questions about Motie are his motor and desire. I don't think there's any question as to his talent. He was one of the most skilled big men in Europe at the age of 20. I think he could be one of the best big men from the draft if he overcomes the questions. Certainly his added weight bodes well for his work ethic to get better.

Anyway guys, let me know if you want me to post it up.

 

Welcome and sure. We'd love to read an informed opinion of his game.

 

I, for one, would love to see it.

 

Name: Donatas Montiejunas
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
Hgt: 7'0"
Wgt: 240
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

 

OHMMS alert....approach with caution.

 

That's the report I did over on our forum. He's not like Vlade, I just used the comparison to highlight parts of his game as Kings fans would be familiar with him. I also posted a highlights video from youtube but I'm sure you've all seen all the videos. Has everyone here seen the second workout video of him in Treviso? The first one was supposedly after a very heavy lifting session which is why he was so poor. He had a much better showing in the second video posted by DraftExpress. I can get it for you if you haven't seen it.

A lot of that is probably already known, but might be something in there that was missed in the chaos.