khandor’s sports blog

Toronto chose Jonas Valanciunas with the No. 5 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Jonas plays the Center position and is currently listed as:

- 6-11
- 240
- 19 years of age.

Other KNOWN FACTS concerning Jonas Valanciunas, include the following:

Strengths

i. He is a highly efficient scorer within close proximity of the basket [i.e. Euroleague/2010-2011: 70.0 FG%; 91.7 FT%; 0-0/3FG; 7.6 Pts/14.9 MP];

ii. Offensively, he has been used primarily in Pick and Roll situations;

iii. Rebounding is one of his strengths [i.e. Euroleague/2010-2011: 5.4 Rebs/14.9 MP];

iv. Shot blocking is one of his strengths [i.e. Euroleague/2010-2011: 0.6 BS/14.9 MP];

v. He plays the game with a good-to-high level of intensity;

vi. He is a relatively “good” athlete for a Center;

vii. He has a relatively “good” frame which should be able to carry additional weight, as he continues to mature physically;

viii. He was selected as the MVP for the European U 18 Men’s Championships last year [i.e. with 31 Pts and 18 Rebs in the Gold Medal game];

ix. He is under contract to his European club team for the 2011-2012 season and will only be eligible to join the Raptors for the 2012-2013 campaign, if there is a NBA season that year;

x. He is NOT Andrea Bargnani [C].

Weaknesses

i. He is a relatively poor passer who does not yet display the ability to create easy baskets for his teammates [i.e. Euroleague/2010-2011: 0.2/Ast; 1.4/TO];

ii. He is NOT Brandon Knight [PG] or Jan Vesely [SF/PF], each of whom was also still available when the Raptors made the No. 5 Selection … and a player with the capacity to eventually become a “star” in the NBA – according to yours truly, based upon “positional upside” [i.e. relative skill-set and athleticism at the position played] – with Derrick Williams [SF] and Kyrie Irving [PG] no longer available; and,

iii. He is NOT Tobias Harris [SF/PG] or Davis Bertans [SF], or [even] Josh Selby [PG], each of whom was still available when the Raptors made the No. 5 Selection … and a player with the capacity to eventually become a “star” in the NBA, if the Raptors would have decided to “trade down”, in an effort to acquire more than only 1 future rotation player from this year’s Draft.

By making this specific selection, the Raptors:

i. Added a very solid prospect … for the 2012-2013 season … with the ability to become a 10+ year, starting Center in the NBA;

ii. Increased their likelihood of being in the 2012-2013 NBA Draft Lottery;

iii. Failed to add a, possible, future “star” player to their current roster, in the form of Brandon Knight, or Jan Vesely, or Tobias Harris, or Davis Bertans [or, even, Josh Selby]; and,

iv. Re-confirmed their commitment to their players from last season, as their core group moving forward, including some combination of: A) Youngsters – DeMar DeRozan [OG/SF], Jerryd Bayless [PG/OG], Sonny Weems [OG/SF], James Johnson [SF/PF], Julian Wright [SF/PG], Ed Davis [PF], Amir Johnson [PF], Joey Dorsey [PF], Solomon Alabi [C] and Alexis Ajinca [C]; B) Young Vets – Andrea Bargnani [PF/C] and Linas Kleiza [SF/PF]; and, C) Veterans – Jose Calderon [PG], Leandro Barbosa [OG/PG] and Reggie Evans [PF].

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Although Jonas Valanciunas [C] is almost certain to become a “good” Center in the NBA, sometime down-the-road … ala Pervis Ellison, Joel Przybilla, or Zydrunas Ilgauskas, etc. … in terms of being able to compete for, and eventually win, a League Championship … it is most unfortunate that the Raptors, once again, wasted another golden opportunity to add a future “star” player – i.e. with ahigh degree of Positional Skill, Athleticism, and Leadership – to their existing roster and, instead, were trumped by the likes of RC Buford, Joe Dumars, Pat Riley, John Hammond, Ed Stefanski and Daryl Morey.

If the Raptors and the Rockets each have their full squads and are operating at their peak levels of effectiveness, then, Houston is the superior team, overall, by a substantial margin.

For this evening’s match-up, however, this is not the situation:

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When Houston made the decisions:

* To trade Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to Sacramento, in exchange for Kevin Martin

and,

* To trade Trevor Ariza, essentially, in exchange for Courtney Lee

Daryl Morey made 2 fundamental mistakes in player personnel judgment which will haunt the future development of the Rockets for years to come.

i.e. #1. Despite the “productive individual statistics” Kevin Martin puts up, on a regular basis, he is simply not a bonafide Starter, at the OG position, at least, for a good-to-high end team in the NBA; and, at this point in his career, neither is Courtney Lee. #2. With the departure of Carl Landry, there is now no front-court player coming off the bench for Houston that is capable of giving them enough production in all 3 main phases of the game [i.e. offense, defense and rebounding] to allow them to take significant advantage of the Raptors’ weakness, at the PF and C positions, whenever Luis Scola is out of the game. 

As a result of the injuries to Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks, the current edition of the Rockets only has 2 players in the line-up this evening who will present any sort of major problem at all for the Raptors, from an Individual Match-up standpoint [i.e. identified by the "green" colour in the chart above].

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Published Wagering Line

Opening: Houston -1.5

Current: Houston -1.5

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KSS Prognostication

As long as Jay Triano utilizes his available chess pieces properly … and does not make any major in-game gaffes … and, the combination of Amir Johnson + Reggie Evans + Joey Dorsey + Linas Kleiza can reasonably contain the scoring exploits of Luis Scola, then, the Raptors should have more than enough weaponry at each of the other positions on the floor to win tonight’s game outright, on their home court.

At the moment, the Rockets are in the midst of a serious tailspin, and they will not be able to work their way out of it with the personnel they have on hand.

Last night’s game between the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors served as an interesting benchmark for the on-going development of these two teams.

Toronto Raptors 92
HOUSTON ROCKETS 116

Complete Game Summary 

At the moment:

Toronto is 31-28/.525, 2nd in the Atlantic Division, and 5th in the Eastern Conference; while, Houston is 30-29/.508, 3rd in the Southwest Division, and 9th in the Western Conference.

Both teams played last night’s game without several key players in their respective line-ups, due to a variety of physical ailments/injuries:

Toronto
1. Chris Bosh/PF-C, leg injury [day-to-day] 
2. Jose Calderon/PG, arm injury [day-to-day]
3. Hedo Turkoglu/SF, leg injury [incurred last night]

Houston
1. Yao Ming/C, foot injury [expected to return next season]
2. Kyle Lowry/PG, leg injury [day-to-day]
3. Trevor Ariza/SF, hip injury [day-to-day]

Examining the complete rosters for each team:

is an interesting exercise when considering:

i. Chris Bosh/PF-C becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer;

ii. Chris Bosh is originally from Dallas, Texas;

iii. The relative “NBA talent” base on these two rosters;

iv. The “playoff prospects” for these two teams:

A. This season, and
B. Beyond the current season. 

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… that the 30 gentlemen who, at present, hold the General Manager’s positions, in the NBA, for the 30 best basketball teams in the world are, in fact, the 30 men with ”the best” grasp of what it actually takes to succeed in this league, as a player, then, this specific video clip is posted here expressly for your benefit.

DeJuan Blair [PF, 6-7, 265] was selected in the 37th [overall] position of the 2009 NBA Draft [i.e. No. 7, in the 2nd Round], by R.C. Buford, GM of the San Antonio Spurs … with the 1st of the team’s 2 available picks … which means that all 29 other general managers in the league each had the chance to take him – as an under-sized PF without anterior cruciate ligaments in either knee - and, instead, simply chose to pass him by.

When the Spurs are once again playing in the NBA’s post-season tounament this spring, fans of other teams across the league who repeat, ad naseum, the phrase,

“In ______________ [substitute whatever GM's name you may want that's not R.C. Buford], we trust,”

would do well to keep this simple fact in-mind.

The best GM in the NBA currently resides in San Antonio, Texas … and, it’s by a wide margin.

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Came across this old article earlier today … which just happens to speak to this issue while profiling an individual like Carroll Dawson who fits nicely into this category of executive in the history of this league. Thought others who may not have seen it yet might enjoy reading it for themselves.

[once you click on the link below scroll down to page 10]

Dawson winding down memorable career
“Everyone knew you trade Steve Francis for Tracy McGrady, because you’re trying to get a star,” said Van Gundy. “It’s how you surround those guys. Team building is much more difficult.”

“We’ve always been risk takers,” said Dawson. “We got criticized highly for (drafting Yao Ming). We got killed for taking Robert Horry (over USC’s Harold Miner).”

Van Gundy appreciated working with someone who had sat in his position. “Having coached, he has an idea how emotionally challenging it is,” Van Gundy said. “You may come in the office and want to blow off steam and get rid of everybody. He’s very even keeled.”

The switch from working with Rudy T. to JVG meant a major change for Dawson. He and Tomjanovich were extremely close. “During the season, I’m down here, he’s up there,” said Van Gundy, who has an office inside the Rockets locker room. “During the season he doesn’t pester you and I don’t go up there every day with a wild trade idea. I’m harder to communicate with because I get more tunnel vision.”

There was a rumor that Dawson and Van Gundy weren’t talking. Van Gundy said that wasn’t true. It was simply a matter of them being more business associates than friends. “There’s a big age difference,” said the 45-year-old Van Gundy. “I think the wives are closer. I’ve never had any communication problem with him because he’s an expert at the art.”

With Yao Ming sidelined, Van Gundy told Dawson the Rockets needed more size. Dawson traded shooting forward Scott Padgett to Memphis for 7-2 Jake Tsakalidis. “I tell him basically what I think we need,” said Van Gundy. “He and his staff do all the heavy lifting. You’re not going to agree on everything. He can disagree with you without being disagreeable. He’s got a great way of diffusing anger and situations.”

Dawson never sought the spotlight. “Everybody likes credit, but he doesn’t seek it,” said Van Gundy. “It’s not about playing guys he traded for, or he signed.”

Dawson considers himself a lucky man. “I’ve had three great jobs in my life and I didn’t have enough sense to apply for any of them,” he said. “I get 10-20 resumes a week from people trying to get a job in the league.” He collected several championship rings, two with the Rockets, four with the Comets, even one from the Dallas Cowboys 1977 Super Bowl champs. He doesn’t wear any of them.

“If I wore a ring, it would be ’94,” he said. “I said, ‘Lord, if we can win it one time, I’ll never ask for anything again.’ “That’s the biggest lie in the world. You want to win it every year.”

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Lots of important lessons there for those who would truly like to learn more about what’s involved with this type of position/individual in the NBA.