can he teach Javale some post moves?

Looking forward to that…

Jermaine Taylor.

I think Dominique can be a better scorer right away though.

Unfortunately – I don’t have a lot to go on for Motiejunas. He plays for Benetton Treviso in the Italian League.

I’ve only seen one Benetton game this year – and Motiejunas only played 15 minutes or so. Of course, there are some YouTube videos… but other than that, I really don’t have enough background and visual evidence to do a proper prospect profile.

Here is what I DO know about him…

He’s a left-handed fast, athletic big man (7-ft , and he looks every bit of 7-ft). He projects out to be a stretch 4 in the NBA – He has a pretty good outside shot… but he can also take his man off the dribble – he’s a highly skilled (good ball handler, good shooter, smart player)… He handles the ball like a guard. The game I saw, he ran the floor extremely well. Shot from outside (including some from 3-point range)… and he was always moving without the ball… coming off screens, and back cuts…. They isolated him once on the wing against a smaller player, and he was able to get around him and finish at the rim – and that was impressive.

He looks skinny – looks like he needs to add about 30-40 pounds of muscle…. And I doubt he’ll be able to defend bigger players in the NBA. He’s also only 19 years old….

There’s the entirety of my knowledge on Motiejunas..

Here;s some YouTube candy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37MBYJ-w7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egOnPm6EaWg

Draft and stash possibility?

Definitely NOT like Arenas…. Arenas is a special scorer, with unlimited range on his jumper, and the ability to score at the rim, despite his size.

Jones is more like Randy Foye lite…. and that’s what I worry about…

Jones is a “tweener” guard – and like Foye, he has a scoring mentality (not a passing mentality)… Jones has a real nice floater that Foye doesn’t have – but Randy is a bit more consistent with his outside shot (especially the 3-point shot)… Both put forth effort on the defensive end of the floor.

Just as with Foye, I worry that Jones will not be able to guard bigger Shooting Guards in the Association – and that he doesn’t really have a position…. (not big enough for SG, not quick enough and without the pass-first mentality of a PG)…

Most Mock drafts I’ve seen put him in the late 1st round to early 2nd round (right where the Wizards have 2 picks)…

I watched a couple of Xavier games this year – and have several more on my DVR – so I should have enough material to do a profile….

What I remember about Crawford is that he is another “tweener” guard (6’3" or 6’4") that cannot or does not play defense – and needed the ball in his hands to be effective….

As for Lance Stephenson – I’m not sure WHERE he’ll be drafted. Mock drafts are all over the place on him… some having him as a solid 1st round pick, while others have him on the bubble of not being drafted at all…. I know that there are some off-court issues , and red flags about his personality and maturity level. He probably would have been better off going back to school for his Sophomore year…. I may eventually get around to doing a piece on him… but to be truthful – I doubt he’ll be in the Wizards plans…. because I think he’ll fall to the late 2nd round…