Motiejūnas: Lithuania's next big thing [Archive] - InterBasket - International Basketball & Euroleague Forum

rikhardur

02-28-2009, 02:43 PM

http://static.krepsinis.net/imgs/motiejunas_donatas_blogui_didele.jpg
Donatas Motiejūnas, 18 years old, 2.13m, F/C

He already is a big thing actually :)
One of the leaders of the Lithuanian league - stats (http://www.lkl.lt/index.php/b19sYW5nPWhlJm9fc2Vhcz0xNSZvX2xlYWc9MSZmdXNlYWN0aW 9uPXBsYXllcnMubWFpbiZwPTcxMQ==).

Draft Watch: Who's hot, who's not?

Who's Hot

[...]

Donatas Motiejunas, F, Lithuania
Every year NBA GMs fly around the world looking for the next Dirk Nowitzki. There have been lots of pretenders -- from Nikoloz Tskitishvilli to Vladimir Radmanovic to Andrea Bargnani (who actually looks pretty good this season) to Danilo Gallinari -- but the next Nowitzki has proven to be pretty elusive. This year's Dirk wannabe is Motiejunas -- a 7-foot, 215-pound forward who, you guessed it, runs the floor, has a pretty jumper and can play multiple positions.

Motiejunas has many of the same red flags as those other guys. Scouts say he is soft, needs to add a lot of strength and is playing against watered down competition in Lithuania. However, he's averaging more than 20 points and shooting around 50 percent from 3-point territory -- that's not bad for an 18-year-old in any league in Europe. While it's highly likely he stays in Europe for another season, a couple of international scouts are telling me there are rumblings he might leave.

Said one NBA executive who watched Motiejunas this year: "He's the closest kid I've seen to Dirk coming out of Europe. Honestly. I know what you're thinking. But this kid could be really good."

Somewhere, Bill Simmons is licking his chops for the third round of our annual draft debate.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=FordDraftWatch-090227

Straight forward

02-28-2009, 03:35 PM

Too much propaganda for this player. That might effect a young player too much. He has to be patient and to play in Lithuania at least 2 years more.

rikhardur

02-28-2009, 05:50 PM

Too much propaganda for this player. That might effect a young player too much. He has to be patient and to play in Lithuania at least 2 years more.
I do agree with that, if he actually wants to play in the NBA someday, he needs to stay here at least 2 more years as you say. The ideal would be more imo.
But why do you say too much propaganda? I know he can turn out to be just another Andriuškevičius, Šilinskis and etc., but were those that good at that age? I mean, Donatas is one of the best players in LKL right now and one of the best at his age in the international scene. Rubio, for instance, has had much more propaganda than him and it all started when he was 15/16.

stuart

02-28-2009, 06:24 PM

Wooo... I know it takes a while for players to grow into their bodies, but 7-0 and 215lbs? Wow, that's skinny.

Stuart

Sss

02-28-2009, 07:02 PM

I do agree with that, if he actually wants to play in the NBA someday, he needs to stay here at least 2 more years as you say. The ideal would be more imo.
But why do you say too much propaganda? I know he can turn out to be just another Andriuškevičius, Šilinskis and etc., but were those that good at that age? I mean, Donatas is one of the best players in LKL right now and one of the best at his age in the international scene. Rubio, for instance, has had much more propaganda than him and it all started when he was 15/16.

Actually, when Rubio was 13 the Spanish basketball federation president called him a next Drazen Petrovic.

For some the hype helps, for some not. Mostly don't think that it has the big influence. It just mostly the hype thrown at some players by fans doesn't correspond to the reality and real potential of a player.

Mindozas

02-28-2009, 07:46 PM

But why do you say too much propaganda? I know he can turn out to be just another Andriuškevičius, Šilinskis and etc., but were those that good at that age?

Silinskis was never good :D Actualy I don't remember any hype over him ever. Before Motiejunas there was Andriuskevicius, who was so called "next Sabas" and earlier was Rinkevicius, who never played for Zalgiris first team and left directly to US after finishing Sabonis bball school, then dissapeared at all and came back to LT a year or so ago and now is too poor even for LKL worst teams. While Andriuskevicius was really good at similar age, atleast in youth competitions he was one of the best players in Europe and was among leaders almost in most stats' categories. He didn't has chance to play in LKL in some weaker team, only in Zalgiris, but there were games when he played good and I even remember when he played really great in EL's one of decisive games' OT for Zalgiris against Scavolini, when scored triple, made dunk and Zalgiris won. As I already said in some other thread, his mistake was moving to NBA too early, cause he felt like a star already and wanted everything instantly (money, cars and etc.) what real stars has. Even Sabas talked personaly with him and tried to convince him not to go there, but he didn't listen. He paid badly for that.

Motiejunas is not planning about NBA and said couple of times that he understands that it's too early for him to go there. He definitely needs more weight, more practise, cause in games against Zalgiris or Rytas he was nothing this season. Or f.e. in U-20 final last summer against Serbia and Macvan, he looked like a boy against a grown man and couldn't do anything in defense. I hope he'll make a wise moves in his career.

Straight forward

02-28-2009, 08:15 PM

I don't believe that the players are not reading the comments about them, not to mention articles like rikhardur posted. Media can form the mentality and it does. I think I would be a different person next day if I would read that I have the potential of Dirk :p These things can't not to influence mentality. Actually, there was already some messages about strange behaviour of Donatas. The coach of Aisciai was mentioning that there are problems inside the team and that Donatas is really "interesting personality" :p I have to say that the kids at his age can make a lot of strange things and when you are suddenly enclosed by media, fans- It could be difficult to cope with these things and to take a right decisions. Andriuskevicius is a good example. But to be honest it would be amistake to say that Adriuskevicius ever had the same potential as Motiejunas has. He never was so sharp leader in international erea and didn't had such skils as Motiejunas has. That what makes me optimistic about Motiejunas it's the talent which I saw in him. I never saw something like that in Adriuskevicius. He has material (big body), but the talent is in Motiejunas side.

LuDux

02-28-2009, 09:17 PM

Highlights
Rinkevicius: ~5pt for U16NT (didn't qualify for final stage)
Andriuskevicius: 16,9pt, 13,4rb(best in EC) for U18NT (9th place)
Silinskis: 12,9pt, 8,5rb, both team highs for U18NT (4th place)
Motiejunas: 18,2pt 10,2rb for U18NT (2nd place)

auris1

02-28-2009, 11:01 PM

I am always wary when parents manage their kids (that’s the case with Motiejunas ) but even more so about amateur suggestions of what people should do with their lives. And this constant association with other players just makes me laugh. Andriuskevicius – how can you call him a failure? Dakota (USA-D-League),Bulls (USA-NBA),Arkansas RR (USA-D-League),Cavaliers (USA-NBA),Zalgiris (Lithuania) – that’s the teams he played for ,and he is only 23 .I bet none of you can get out of sofa without getting puffed out but yet you feel strangely confident giving comparisons you have no clue about .Leave him alone – he will do very nicely without your advice, thank you very much

alex15

03-01-2009, 05:21 AM

Any highlight video of him?

Another Nowitzki comparison.....

Mindozas

03-01-2009, 01:13 PM

Mindozas

03-01-2009, 01:16 PM

Any highlight video of him?

Another Nowitzki comparison.....

I wouldn't call his playin' style similar to Dirk's one. If I understood the author correctly, he sees Motiejunas as a European player, who can have the same influence to NBA as Dirk has, but IMO he didn't have in mind that he plays the same way

LuDux

03-01-2009, 02:50 PM

I wouldn't call his playin' style similar to Dirk's one. If I understood the author correctly, he sees Motiejunas as a European player, who can have the same influence to NBA as Dirk has, but IMO he didn't have in mind that he plays the same way

I think similarity is that they are not real centers despite height and good shooters.

This Saturday LTV will show Neptunas@Aisciai game

rikhardur

03-01-2009, 03:10 PM

Any highlight video of him?

Another Nowitzki comparison.....
You can watch the games of the European U18 championship last year here (http://www.fibaeurope-u18men.com/en/Default.asp?cid={0A5D217A-4698-4FA8-B126-60BCC13F0FEC}&pageID={280CBDDC-7887-4E7E-B7BF-9ECDB21EC26D}&compID={2248A846-FA78-40FF-B03C-54B460890F45}&season=2008&).

pohani komarac

03-01-2009, 08:30 PM

bruno sundov plyaed for dallas, new york, indiana, boston, cleveland, split, maccabi, cibona, riga, 2 spain clubs (can't remember). he also played in cypruss, nbdl and cba. not even dino radja had carer like him:)

btw. bruno will be fired from cibona soon

LuDux

03-01-2009, 09:06 PM

Mindozas

03-01-2009, 09:30 PM

that's a lot of teams for 22 year old player!

Sundov at 23 was already played in: Split, Dallas (2 seasons), Indiana (2 seasons), Boston, Cleveland

Pistol Pete

03-01-2009, 09:36 PM

I really don't think that this guy will get the "superstar" syndrome and stop developing, because he's a really smart, down-to-earth guy from his interviews. And now he has some negative examples to learn from (M.Andriuškevičius).

pohani komarac

03-03-2009, 04:49 PM

that's a lot of teams for 22 year old player!

he's 29 now

Migelitas

03-06-2009, 08:13 AM

Aisčiai have played a game vs Sūduva in Marijampolė. Motiejūnas scored 23points (8/9 2pt, 1/1 3pt, 4/5 Ft, 5reb). From whole attendance four eyes looked at him very careful - GM of Minnesota Timberwolves Jim Stack and Pete Philo international scout of Timberwolves.

re5pectas

03-06-2009, 10:30 AM

auris1

03-07-2009, 01:00 PM

Migelitas
Like your signature
Btw what is market share of respublika compared to rytas?

Migelitas

03-07-2009, 04:38 PM

Migelitas
Like your signature

Well, it's not made by myself, just stolen:o

Btw what is market share of respublika compared to rytas?

I think nobody knows indeed. LR claims, that his the biggest, Respublika Publishing Group says, that Vakaro žinios is leading with small margin.

Straight forward

04-14-2009, 10:09 AM

Lietuvis

04-14-2009, 03:12 PM

D. Motiejūnas scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 12th Nike Hoop Summit while World team beat USA 97: 89. Motiejūnas had a pretty bad shooting %, but he managed to score 12 points in 4th quarter.

The bad thing he missed the semis of BBL challenge cup and his team lost it.

Nice catch. Here is an interview with him before this game:

http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=09_hsum_world_feature

Straight forward

04-20-2009, 12:57 PM

Motiejunas' highlights from the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37MBYJ-w7k

wardjdim

04-20-2009, 07:32 PM

I am very proud of my boy ;)

He is growing up with the right goals and right idols. Luis Scola and Tau Ceramica..

Being a free agent this summer, Tau could very well get him, couldn't they? :cool:

Straight forward

04-20-2009, 08:11 PM

I am very proud of my boy ;)

He is growing up with the right goals and right idols. Luis Scola and Tau Ceramica..

Being a free agent this summer, Tau could very well get him, couldn't they? :cool:

He surely has some taste here!

Tau could get him, but It's really too soon for that. He should play for Žalgiris next 4 years, I mean :p

Markoishvili

04-21-2009, 11:42 AM

Does anyone knows if there are any games of Motiejunas from Lithunian league that can be downloaded from torrents, or does anyone have games that they could upload?

Mindozas

04-21-2009, 04:12 PM

Does anyone knows if there are any games of Motiejunas from Lithunian league that can be downloaded from torrents, or does anyone have games that they could upload?

There is one game of him in sport-scene.net, against Zalgiris in LKF Cup semis, btw very poor game for him. I'm afraid, you won't find anything else anywhere, cause his team's games almost wasn't broadcasted on TV, so very slim chances

Migelitas

04-21-2009, 04:36 PM

According to LNK TV, Motiejūnas' agent V. Bulotas confirmed, that his agent is going to miss 2009 draft.

Straight forward

04-21-2009, 05:16 PM

According to LNK TV, Motiejūnas' agent V. Bulotas confirmed, that his agent is going to miss 2009 draft.

And according to his agent, he would have been among 8-16 options in the drafts. That would be a record for Lithuanian player!
Now I'm thinking who was more promising Ilgauskas or Motiejūnas at their age. I would say Ilgauskas was more dominant already, but Motiejūnas is more universal and expected to be far better when he'll get physically stronger.

auris1

04-21-2009, 07:02 PM

Does anyone knows if there are any games of Motiejunas from Lithunian league that can be downloaded from torrents, or does anyone have games that they could upload?
http://media2.lrt.lt/ltv/20090307_1610_LKL_rungtynes_s1.wmv
2009 03 07
Kauno „Aisčiai” – Klaipėdos „Neptūnas

LuDux

04-21-2009, 07:17 PM

And according to his agent, he would have been among 8-16 options in the drafts. That would be a record for Lithuanian player!
Now I'm thinking who was more promising Ilgauskas or Motiejūnas at their age. I would say Ilgauskas was more dominant already, but Motiejūnas is more universal and expected to be far better when he'll get physically stronger.

In first 30 games of 1993-94 season Ilgauskas averaged 16,7 pt and 11,2 rb for stronger team in weaker league

Straight forward

04-21-2009, 07:22 PM

In first 30 games of 1993-94 season Ilgauskas averaged 16,7 pt and 11,2 rb for stronger team in weaker league

You mean second Zalgiris team, right? But the fact that next season he was 19 and already played in LKL finals is saying a lot. I don't think Motiejunas could lead Zalgiris next season. Do you agree?

LuDux

04-21-2009, 07:56 PM

You mean second Zalgiris team, right?

Atletas, first LKL season.

But the fact that next season he was 19 and already played in LKL finals is saying a lot. I don't think Motiejunas could lead Zalgiris next season. Do you agree?

I think he could have this year's numbers in Siauliai/Nevezis level team next season

vaslover

04-21-2009, 08:36 PM

Smart guy. Donatas and his agent understand that in 2010 draft he has chances to be chosen even in first 5-7 pick.

auris1

04-21-2009, 09:46 PM

Smart guy. Donatas and his agent understand that in 2010 draft he has chances to be chosen even in first 5-7 pick.
It is just so too soon to tell. He is a talent, all right. One of how many there was before him in Lithuania who failed?
But I don’t think it is going to be LKL next season for him. Not NBA either. Decent wage in decent EU team and hopefully he will be all right. But I am not big fan of his father being his manager. Not at all

vaslover

04-21-2009, 11:21 PM

It is just so too soon to tell. He is a talent, all right. One of how many there was before him in Lithuania who failed?
But I don’t think it is going to be LKL next season for him. Not NBA either. Decent wage in decent EU team and hopefully he will be all right. But I am not big fan of his father being his manager. Not at all

As for his possible failing, everything can happen, it,s life. But as for comparing him with Andruskavicius or our Korolev ( btw, Jaroslav' father f..ck up his career, at least now), Donatas seems like guy from other planet.
As for where Donatas is possibly better to play in next season, i think best option for him would be BC Zalgiris. Yes, he can try to play in TAU or Unicaja, but i,m not sure, that he would play there more than 10-14 min. BC Zalgiris still playing in euroleague as well and i,ve no doubt that Donatas would play there no less than 20-25 minutes. And it,s exactly what he really needs before draft 2010.

auris1

04-23-2009, 10:28 PM

As for where Donatas is possibly better to play in next season, i think best option for him would be BC Zalgiris.
there is lot of talk about duties being paid since zalgiris 10th anniversary winning euroleague – hell, zalgiris might not survive, and I don’t blame myself for being pissed at this, but he will get there.

LordOfLeyte

04-27-2009, 10:31 AM

Source: Jonathan Givony @draftexpress.com

Donatas Motijeunas has decided not to enter his name in the 2009 NBA draft, according to his American agent, Herb Rudoy.

“His plan for next season is to work on improving his game while he also concentrates on his physical development through a serious training program,” Rudoy told us. “His expectation is to enter his name in next year's draft.”

In the meantime, Motijeunas has been invited to the Lithuanian National team training camp this summer, Rudoy added.

With Motijeunas removing his name from consideration, that makes no less than eight potential lottery picks that that decided to pass on entering the 2009 draft, which surely has to be some kind of record.

rikhardur

04-27-2009, 03:51 PM

Obviously the right thing to do at this point.

Straight forward

05-12-2009, 03:46 PM

About Motiejūnas future: "I don't know about any proposals, everything goes to my agent and from agent to my parents. Most likely I will study in VDU (Kaunas), so I'll play in Lithuanian team. I don't know yet what kind of team it will be." I hope to see this guy in Žalgiris next year :rolleyes:
All interview: http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/23/26618/

elaj

08-06-2009, 08:27 PM

Benetton Treviso signed Donatas Motiejunas. source: Interperformances (http://www.interperformances.com/basket/news_detail.php?id=336) :eek:

wardjdim

08-06-2009, 08:31 PM

Benetton Treviso signed Donatas Motiejunas. source: Interperformances (http://www.interperformances.com/basket/news_detail.php?id=336) :eek:
Shocking, to say the least

Donatas (no matter what happens from now on) will always be in our hearts :D

GarciaFan

08-06-2009, 08:33 PM

Benetton Treviso signed Donatas Motiejunas. source: Interperformances (http://www.interperformances.com/basket/news_detail.php?id=336) :eek:

great signing the question for how long?
will be very intersting to see him in the euroleague :)

elaj

08-06-2009, 08:37 PM

I'm shocked how idiotic Motiejunas can be. Why the fuck didn't he sign in Žalgiris? He would get the chance to play, home environment, home fans, Euroleague... no, idiot goes to Benetton. Should be interesting to see what this will do to his career. In my opinion he made a big mistake. Benetton is one big mess atm, well, became one big mess as soon as Gherardini went to Toronto.

yessuz

08-06-2009, 08:41 PM

Well, his performance was more than poor during eurochamps (Uxx).
During the interview, he draw his attitude:

"With Serbia I made just two points and didn't revenge to Croatia. It made me nervous, because I didn't knew how to play, when I didn't receive the ball. When you get a ball, you can shoot or pass, you have more opportunities. And when you don't, you became nervous, do not defence and do nothing.":eek:

That's brief translation. Also, there are rumors, that Motiejunas' conditions (request) to Zalgiris were more than ridiculous (let's imagine something like this: 1+1, 1 million/year without buyout ammount, 25-30 minutes per game, dedicated trainer...)

Despite his talent, I hope he will not finish like Martynas Andriuskevicius...

Shneider

08-06-2009, 08:45 PM

great signing the question for how long?
will be very intersting to see him in the euroleague :)

As i know he sign for 2 years.

I think we could named this - one more "wonderful" L.Capichioni, V.Bulotas, and D.Motiejunas father job :) Interperformances kill all promising Lithuanian basketball players.

rikhardur

08-06-2009, 08:47 PM

Despite his talent, I hope he will not finish like Martynas Andriuskevicius...
I've seen that scenario farther. Bad move to sign for Benetton Treviso, he should have stayed in Lithuania.

Panco

08-06-2009, 08:48 PM

I'm shocked how idiotic Motiejunas can be. Why the fuck didn't he sign in Žalgiris? He would get the chance to play, home environment, home fans... no, idiot goes to Benetton. Should be interesting to see what this will do to his career. In my opinion he made a big mistake.
Obviously Benetton promised him a solid playing time, while in Kaunas he would be forced to share time with Watson, Klimavicius, Jankunas (possibly) and some new center. He also had some specific and "interesting" demands and so on..
Furthermore, he has never showed huge love for Zalgiris anyway.

I'm sure that it's not a long-term deal, since he keeps talking about NBA and Top European Clubs.

All in all, Benetton made a, let's say, brave decision. Motiejunas will need proper playing time, he will ask for the ball all the time and he's pretty selfish and cocky. Let's see, whether this deal pays off for both sides.

yessuz

08-06-2009, 08:50 PM

I've seen that scenario farther. Bad move to sign for Benetton Treviso, he should have stayed in Lithuania.

IMHO the biggest problem was his father who demanded many play minutes for his son.
It's stupid and unrealistic.

hot_sauce23

08-06-2009, 08:59 PM

I hope that Motiejunas will be another lithuanian superstar Andriuskevicius's team friend in the next few year. Fuck this young ballhog

LuDux

08-06-2009, 09:21 PM

http://www.suspect-device.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01//this-is-an-outrage.jpg

Evil father demanding minutes!

Jan van Grabski

08-06-2009, 09:32 PM

I hope that Motiejunas will be another lithuanian superstar Andriuskevicius's team friend in the next few year. Fuck this young ballhog

i wondered if there is something wrong with Motiejunas, since this summer he had really strange interviews with weird statements.....like, i am not going to play for Lithuanian youth NT anymore, i will play for Lithuania only if they invite me to senior team. Common, get real boy.

Anyway, i presume Zalgiris offer was really really very bad if he chose to go to italy. I cant explain it otherwise. I dont believe they promised him a lot of playing minutes there.

PS. news about this signing spoiled the nice evening i was having so far, thanks elaj...i will remember. :)

GarciaFan

08-07-2009, 04:45 AM

IMHO the biggest problem was his father who demanded many play minutes for his son.
It's stupid and unrealistic.

remind me a little bit the situation with Omri Casspi and his dad. I think Motiejunas should stayed in Zalgiris like Casspi stayed in Maccabi and sign his style only an hype in the summer he had a bad campaign with NT, his not like Gasol that played well in Barcelona and selcted All-Euroleague Second Team before going to the NBA he should play in europe and improve his weakness, in the end he will a bust like Nemanja Aleksandrov :confused:

Straight forward

08-07-2009, 06:18 AM

Evil father demanding minutes!

Or is it about money already? :rolleyes: It's really lame to bark on the net when you don't know all the situation and actually it's not your life anyway, but this move by Donanas just makes me go crazy (for a minute at least :))
Anyway, so far we have only bad news about Motiejūnas this summer:
1. He gives too many interviews and his sentences are way too long.
2. He fucked up with Youth teams.
3. He signed Benneton and Italians not Lithuanians will be able to see how he's progressing (?).
4. His managment is pathetic.

Krapikas few days ago said that he will give good minutes for Donatas. The reason is not his playing time I think.
I should really stop caring about the club basketball, because that really sucks. It's all about the fucking money.

yessuz

08-07-2009, 06:34 AM

Or is it about money already? :rolleyes: It's really lame to bark on the net when you don't know all the situation and actually it's not your life anyway, but this move by Donanas just makes me go crazy (for a minute at least :))
Anyway, so far we have only bad news about Motiejūnas this summer:
1. He gives too many interviews and his sentences are way too long.
2. He fucked up with Youth teams.
3. He signed Benneton and Italians not Lithuanians will be able to see how he's progressing (?).
4. His managment is pathetic.

Krapikas few days ago said that he will give good minutes for Donatas. The reason is not his playing time I think.
I should really stop caring about the club basketball, because that really sucks. It's all about the fucking money.

Generally, he did the most stupidiest thing in his life.
1) if he wanted play minutes, he had to stay in Atletas or even to go to Siauliai and not to care about money. He could have as much as he wants, he could be the leader. He could make the shots as much as he wants..
2) If he wanted minutes - he had - once again, to stay in Atletas or What ever LKL team, he could make his statistics. Then, anyway, he would get the Round 1 NBA pick (maybe top 10) (???) and he would have good contract with NBA team and good money.

This particular move by him is nonsence: no big money (or big???) and probably - no good time in team.
Hes previous sezon in Atletas was quite good... exept the stats against Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas.
And that says alot.

Mindozas

08-07-2009, 07:26 AM

Thnx God that cocky kid left to Italy. OMG he demands minutes :eek: who the hell he's to demand it? earn it! show that you are good enough. Now gimme minutes, gimme ball, shots and etc. And I don't even talk about his attitude, there's no wonder why all kids from former NKL champs "Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla" was happy when next season he left to Aisciai and didn't sign with "Kaunas Triobet". Zalgiris doesn't need such princess with long list of requirements who will only take and won't give almost anything...

i wondered if there is something wrong with Motiejunas, since this summer he had really strange interviews with weird statements.....like, i am not going to play for Lithuanian youth NT anymore, i will play for Lithuania only if they invite me to senior team. Common, get real boy.

Actually he won't play because of NBA drafts and summer camps, so he has an excuse here, but if he would be wise enough, he just would stay silent about rejecting U-20 next summer ;)

LuDux

08-07-2009, 09:02 AM

remind me a little bit the situation with Omri Casspi and his dad. I think Motiejunas should stayed in Zalgiris like Casspi stayed in Maccabi and sign his style only an hype in the summer he had a bad campaign with NT, his not like Gasol that played well in Barcelona and selcted All-Euroleague Second Team before going to the NBA he should play in europe and improve his weakness, in the end he will a bust like Nemanja Aleksandrov :confused:

You are completely wrong. Interprformances tried to ruin Casspi's career by convincing him to stay in Europe. It's in the article (http://www.respublika.lt/lt/naujienos/sportas/krepsinis/interperformances_imperija_griuva/) in Respublika (http://www.zalgiris.lt/LT/remejai/mus-remia/).lt

kecal

08-07-2009, 09:29 AM

I'm so happy that we have Jonas Valančiūnas as our backup option on the front line... Bye bye, Donatas :rolleyes:

GarciaFan

08-07-2009, 09:35 AM

You are completely wrong. Interprformances tried to ruin Casspi's career by convincing him to stay in Europe. It's in the article (http://www.respublika.lt/lt/naujienos/sportas/krepsinis/interperformances_imperija_griuva/) in Respublika (http://www.zalgiris.lt/LT/remejai/mus-remia/).lt

I'm not talking about Interprformances I'm talking about Casspi's dad that was complaining many times about his son playing time. He even had in his contract that if he will not be one of 8 most playing in the team he will be released:confused:

Toxicity

08-07-2009, 10:04 AM

Obviously Benetton promised him a solid playing time,

I highly doubt... first of all Motiejunas is not ready at all and we all saw that in the U20 Eurobasket... then Benetton has already a young big, who has better experience in the italian league and is italian too... Renzi obviously... i would be shocked if the lithuanian manage to play more than 5-10 mpg...

wardjdim

08-07-2009, 10:10 AM

The Greek site Basketblog.gr let us know that Motiejunas is a SF/PF :cool:

Jan van Grabski

08-07-2009, 10:12 AM

Actually he won't play because of NBA drafts and summer camps, so he has an excuse here, but if he would be wise enough, he just would stay silent about rejecting U-20 next summer ;)

I agree.... even if he has whatever reason, he better keeps his mouth shut....or at least says that he will try his best to represent Lithuania even if it could be difficult. Otherwise he will end up being hated like ilgauskas:) Anyways...best luck for him in Italy, i hope he knows what he is doing.

I'm so happy that we have Jonas Valančiūnas as our backup option on the front line... Bye bye, Donatas :rolleyes:

I hope that the attention and mass hype will not have effect on his mindset too :) I also was wondering if Zalgiris school has speciall courses on cockiness, cause it certainly looks so :rolleyes:

kecal

08-07-2009, 12:48 PM

I hope that the attention and mass hype will not have effect on his mindset too :) I also was wondering if Zalgiris school has speciall courses on cockiness, cause it certainly looks so :rolleyes:

I think that's a problem we did not have before. If you are really good nowadays, some people see a business project in your person, and not a basketball player. This is in those bastards' short-term interests, to say how good you are and in no need of any further training... And there are no old-school veterans to remind that you are nothing till you have proven anything on the court...

I do really hope that Valančiūnas is more humble and able to stay focused on his game for a longer period... BTW, I have always thought that it was Kleiza who has really started this new generation of cocky overconfident youth, but luckily he was able to prove something in the USA and became star player...

Straight forward

08-08-2009, 12:09 PM

No matter how pity is that Motiejunas is leaving Kaunas, but what the hell- all he did so far he signed the team that is not Žalgiris. Cocky is he or not, but he had a good year with his club and I wouldn't judge his abilities looking at U20. He was tired and didn't fit to the team. These guys fucked up anyway, it wasn't only Motiejūnas who played shitty. Let's just wait and see how he'll be doing. He's only a young stupid kid so far, what do you expect? All these basketball kids are not the smartest guys in the world to say the least :) But that doesn't mean they can't play perfect BB.
Valančiūnas also thinks about how he would like to be such as D. Howard...:o

wardjdim

10-03-2009, 09:16 AM

Donatas is soft, but looks like he can play at the Euroleague level ;)

refresh

10-04-2009, 04:36 PM

I think Motiejunas fail , because he is selected Benneton , i think better chose was Zalgiris.

auris1

10-04-2009, 10:03 PM

I think Motiejunas fail , because he is selected Benneton , i think better chose was Zalgiris.
oh shit.
it is you again
Your previous post was more coherent
Keep posting
That’s there my therapy goes awry

Toxicity

10-06-2009, 11:28 PM

Nice game tonight for Motiejunas, although in a bad loss for Benetton...

I'd say he probably resembles more Fucka than Bargnani in his game/body/skills...

damelo

10-07-2009, 09:33 AM

Yes, he gave Orleans problems, being more efficient to take advantage of the poor defensive rotations on the pick and roll than Nicevic was. He saw the spaces and dove in them, great game from him.

Straight forward

12-13-2009, 04:13 PM

Motiejunas is improving in Lega A. Last two games:

17 points and 5 rebounds per 29 minutes against Angelico BI
14 points and 5 rebounds per 23 minutes against Pepsi CE

mbenga

12-13-2009, 07:38 PM

Nice game tonight for Motiejunas, although in a bad loss for Benetton...

I'd say he probably resembles more Fucka than Bargnani in his game/body/skills...
Yea, he's much better suited to play PF than C. What's his contractual situation? Does he have an affordable buyout if he wanted to go to the NBA next season or we'll have another Rubiolike saga this summer?

Toxicity

12-13-2009, 07:53 PM

Yea, he's much better suited to play PF than C. What's his contractual situation? Does he have an affordable buyout if he wanted to go to the NBA next season or we'll have another Rubiolike saga this summer?

I don't know but usually spanish teams set huge buyout not italian ones... and Benetton has always set reasonable buyout in his past. ;)

Dreamcatcher

12-13-2009, 10:18 PM

Toxicity

12-14-2009, 05:32 PM

So, how is your shock? :)

Renzi injured badly at the start of the season and Motjeniunas is now the clear 3rd big man... plus the kid has great tools so i'm not surprised anymore. ;)

Dreamcatcher

01-26-2010, 10:36 PM

Great game by Motiejunas against Bilbao: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 7 received fouls. As a result, 31 ranking and MVP of the tour in Eurocup.

Straight forward

01-27-2010, 01:31 PM

European Roundup: Donatas Doing Better

by: Jonathan Givony - President
January 27, 2010
We took some time out of our busy college basketball viewing schedule to check in on the progress of potential lottery pick big man Donatas Motiejunas, one of the few international prospects who is getting NBA executives excited in this draft.

With his team falling to 7-8 in Serie A this past weekend after yet another disappointing loss, we (along with many NBA executives) were forced to adjust our travel schedules for late February after Benetton Treviso failed to qualify for the Italian Cup/Final 8. Instead, we dug deep into the large quantity of film at our disposal thanks to Synergy Sports Technology, and came away with plenty of food for thought.

Since the last time we checked in on him in mid-November, Motiejunas’ minutes and role have both increased for Benetton, and he’s looking noticeably more comfortable in his own skin. He starts every other game on average and sees between 20-25 minutes typically depending on the matchup.

Considering the fact that he’s only 19 years old and is playing essentially his first ‘real’ season of professional basketball, this is very impressive. His team is struggling (by their standards) as mentioned, being forced to call in Brandon Jennings’ old coach in Rome, Croatian Jasmin Repesa, to try and save the ship.

Up until the coaching change Motiejunas was looking more and more confident about putting his skill-level on display. Repesa doesn’t seem to be holding him back early on, already giving him 31 minutes in their EuroCup Top 16 debut (which they lost at home). The Lithuanian responded with 17 points (7/9 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

With added experience underneath his belt, and a growing role, Motiejunas is quickly emerging as one of the most versatile big men in the Italian league. The place that shows up the most is on the perimeter, where Motiejunas is showing outstanding potential taking his man off the dribble in creative fashion, often spinning his way through the lane for some incredibly impressive finishes.

Able to go left or right, Motiejunas is a nightmare for most big men to match up with at his size, as he possesses an excellent first step to go along with strong ball-handling skills and terrific body control maneuvering his way towards the basket.

He’s getting to the free throw line at a very good rate, 6.4 times per-40 minutes pace adjusted, which ranks him in the top-10 in the Italian league amongst qualified players in that category.

Something to keep in mind is that his ability to create scoring opportunities out of isolation situations will be far more useful in the faster paced and more loosely called realm of the NBA. Italian league refs are notorious for being incredibly quick to call traveling violations (particularly on rookies like Motiejunas), and there were a number of whistles that we saw on film that would not have been ruled as such in the NBA.

Motiejunas is also looking a little better in the post these days, appearing more comfortable here now than he did in the past. His outstanding footwork combined with his terrific agility and quickness allows him to create his own shot with relative ease, often to transition into a beautiful jump-hook shot, which he can execute with either hand. His touch around the basket and overall feel for scoring remains extremely impressive for someone his age, as it’s pretty clear that we’re talking with an exceptionally gifted offensive player with a huge upside to continue to develop on this end of the floor.

On the downside, Motiejunas’ jumper has not been falling very regularly at all, as he’s converted just 8 of the 27 jump-shots he’s attempted this season (6/21 3P) according to Synergy Sports Technology, and 46/76 free throw attempts, good for 60%. Looking at his shooting mechanics and the terrific touch he displays around the basket, you have to imagine that it’s only a matter of time until his shots start falling from the perimeter.

While Motiejunas leaves an incredibly strong impression with the talent he’s displaying on the offensive end, his work defensively and on the glass can’t be described as anything less than worrisome. Possessing average fundamentals on this end of the floor, Motiejunas is somewhat of a liability when attempting to defend on the perimeter. He’s extremely upright in his stance and shows very little in the ways of hustle or awareness, getting burned repeatedly in the film we took in.

His lack of strength is a major issue, but so is his extremely poor balance, as you regularly see him being knocked to the ground in every game he plays in. He gets pushed around by smaller players fairly often, giving up deep position in the post, and in turn easy baskets.

He remains an incredibly poor defensive rebounder, grabbing just 46 defensive rebounds in 448 total minutes, or one for every 10 minutes he’s on the court. Although rebounds are tougher to come by in Europe than they are in the NCAA, it’s tough to ignore the fact that he ranks amongst the worst defensive rebounders in his own league on a per-minute basis.

What we must keep in mind at all times is that Motiejunas is still only 19 years old, and has plenty of room to add enough strength to his very solid frame. This added bulk will help him compete much more effectively against most of the big men he’ll encounter in the NBA, but it may take some time for him to fill out. At this point Motiejunas may be considering staying another season in Benetton, as he still has another year on his contract that he signed this past summer. With at least four months remaining in Benetton’s hectic schedule, including the top 16 round of the EuroCup, and possibly the Italian league playoffs, there is still a long ways to go.

NBA scouts will be paying close attention in particular to Benetton’s two matchups with fellow draft prospect big man Tibor Pleiss of Bamberg next week and in March.
www.draftExpress.com

robbe

01-27-2010, 03:52 PM

Right, he's going up against Pleiß next week. Pleiß is '89 born, has similar frame as Motiejunas, 215cm tall, thin, mobile, soft hands, quite decent a shooting stroke for a tall man - but plays mainly inside - , 2nd-leading shotblocker in Germany. Starting center in Bamberg.

Gytaz

01-27-2010, 07:07 PM

Most people in Lithuania thought that Motiejūnas made a wrong choice going to Benetton, but now, seeing that he gets more than 20 minutes per game in Eurocup, I think this might turn out for the best, but he must stay in Europe for at least one more year, maybe more, until he's ready for the NBA. I hope he won't rush things this time.

Luíz for 3

01-28-2010, 01:47 AM

I highly doubt... first of all Motiejunas is not ready at all and we all saw that in the U20 Eurobasket... then Benetton has already a young big, who has better experience in the italian league and is italian too... Renzi obviously... i would be shocked if the lithuanian manage to play more than 5-10 mpg...

Andrea Renzi played only 1 game in Lega A and zero in EuroCup, is he injured??

Talking about Donatas Motiejūnas, I believe the best choice to him would be play in Lithuania with Žalgiris. As young player, is way easy to develop the skills playing at home then doing it in other country.

arturcia

01-28-2010, 06:04 AM

Andrea Renzi played only 1 game in Lega A and zero in EuroCup, is he injured??

Talking about Donatas Motiejūnas, I believe the best choice to him would be play in Lithuania with Žalgiris. As young player, is way easy to develop the skills playing at home then doing it in other country.

I disagree. I think work in Treviso will be more useful for him. Here in Lithuania he get too much attention. as well as nearby friends and relatives would't let him to focus all attention for training.

moreover, it may be that Žalgiris made a mistake with Motiejūnas as well as it was made with Jasikevičius ten years ago: Jasikevičius he wanted to be the main PG, but instead of Žalgiris took Corey Beck :) now they could't guarantee Motiejūnas playing time, because there is "a lot of good tall guys in the team": Begic (disappointment of the year), Čiukinas, Butkevičius, Klimavičius... and now they signed croatian talent Delas. is he a lot better than Motiejūnas?

madmax

01-28-2010, 08:46 AM

Treviso is known as a very good place to develop for young promising bigs - just look at the Bargnani example and how he was able to make a jump from italian club into NBA...Motiejunas is at least as talented as italian, and it doesn't really matter where he stays in Europe, as long as he has plenty of playing time and coach trusts him. Zalgiris is not an elite team anymore, so his choice was probably based on financial aspect more than anything

Straight forward

01-28-2010, 10:01 AM

madmax

01-28-2010, 10:12 AM

madmax, Žalgiris is still elite team while they are among best team in Europe (Top 16) :D

There are advantages and disadvantages as everywhere most of the cases. Advantage is that he's lost from Lithuanian media, fans and friends as arturcia put it. More over, I still believe Motiejūnas would get more playing time and relatively easier competition in Žalgiris. I believe it's very useful for him to see what he is really capable to do, instead of getting all the balls in Aiščiai. On other hand, for such a young player that could be very hard to adjust psychologically - he had everything in Aiščiai and now he should prove everything from the start. But now as he gets playing time and produce promising numbers I believe this was a hell of a school for him, specially knowing his temper.

As for his playing skills. I thought his role will be even bigger, but I was really surprised how weak he is at the defensive end. In Lithuanian league that wasn't so obvious. He really nows where he should work on. Hopefully he won't overdo with getting muscles. His shooting already dropped compering to last year in LKL.

wel, it's only natural that his numbers dropped compared to an amateur league like LKL numbers, which don't mean much if you are playing for a lower level teams other than Rytas or Zalgiris...as for an"elite" team talk, I consider only a handful European teams elite, and there are no lith clubs in that group unfortunately. Treviso on the other hand plays in competitive Serie A with plenty of high quality american and european players, so the level of the competition is comparable to at least ULEB Cup participants. As we could see from the last game, Motiejunas already started over Nicevic under new coach Repesa and was the most valubale player of the first round - pretty impressive for a 19 year old, isn't it?

Straight forward

01-28-2010, 10:21 AM

As we could see from the last game, Motiejunas already started over Nicevic under new coach Repesa and was the most valubale player of the first round - pretty impressive for a 19 year old, isn't it?

Repeša is the most positive thing that happened with Benneton. He's definitely the best coach Motiejūnas ever worked with. And he might make a team from Benneton next season while hopefully Motiejūnas will have even bigger role.

Toxicity

01-28-2010, 08:28 PM

Italian League Stats (http://195.56.77.208/player/?id=MOT-DON-90&year=2009&team=1175)

How about the 0.0 (zero) blocks in 19.6 mpg in the italian league?!? He has, at least, 100 players ahead of him in the blocks chart... :eek:

His PER is good but he has to improve a lot on the defensive end and at rebounding the ball... a lot.

Straight forward

05-06-2010, 09:22 AM

Just few moments from Motiejūnas in Benneton, Benneton must be the most secret team in Europe, no highlights- nothing :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHMHdxoV3UI

silnismo

06-04-2010, 05:18 AM

Khalid80

06-04-2010, 09:38 AM

Too bad he's pulling out of the draft....

Dude just had his tonsils removed, and most definately won't work out for any teams.

BTW he's pulling b/c of his low position in the draft, the higher your drafted the more $$$.

Yeah apparently he will be staying in Europe for now.

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/06/03/aldridge.draft.update/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Gytaz

06-04-2010, 11:04 AM

I think it's a good thing. He needs another year in Europe to get some more experience. There's no need to rush to the NBA.

rikhardur

06-04-2010, 01:13 PM

I think it's a good thing. He needs another year in Europe to get some more experience. There's no need to rush to the NBA.
Absolutely. He should only move when he's actually ready. I'd even push it to two years.

mvblair

06-04-2010, 02:04 PM

I think it's a good thing. He needs another year in Europe to get some more experience. There's no need to rush to the NBA.No, of course there is no need to rush to the NBA, but people are thinking very highly of Motiejunas. If he knows which team will draft him and he likes the team, he should stay in. There are a lot of great young players who have turned into superstars...of course, there are even more who have flopped out....

silnismo

06-04-2010, 03:46 PM

Yeah, next year he'll probably be higher up on the draft board.

Lewis

06-04-2010, 04:18 PM

Too bad he's pulling out of the draft....

Dude just had his tonsils removed, and most definately won't work out for any teams.

BTW he's pulling b/c of his low position in the draft, the higher your drafted the more $$$.

are you serious :confused:

what low position?????

all the mocks I've seen had him in the top 15, what did he expect anyway? to be drafted first overall :confused: ( if that's the case anyway, he might as well stay in Europe for the next 10 years 'cause that ain't gonna happen:( )

silnismo

06-05-2010, 08:07 PM

Well, when it comes to international players the draft position always factors in if they are coming over or not. If him and his agents are seeing that he will be picked higher next year, its a no brainer to stay another year.

BTW he was expecting to be picked top 10 in very beginning, but as scouts questioned his lack of size and his defense he fell down to 14 spot.

mbenga

06-05-2010, 08:11 PM

The trend is changing, i guess we'll see more and more guys in the future who decide to stay in Europe until they're sure to be ready and less Milicics and Andriuskevicius who take his first chance to leave.

Straight forward

06-05-2010, 09:04 PM

Dreamcatcher

06-05-2010, 09:53 PM

Very clever decision. His agent simply stated out that Motiejūnas needs improve his physical condition before going to NBA. More over, he has already improved his defence, grabbing more rebounds and he should play better both in Eurocup (maybe Euroleague?) and Italian league next year. Simply it's the best choice he could make at the moment.

...maybe Euroleague?...

No, Benetton surely won't play there next year. And having in mind, that Benetton was only 8-th in the regular Serie A season, we can say, that Motiejunas plays in quite a weak team.

Straight forward

06-05-2010, 10:10 PM

...maybe Euroleague?...

No, Benetton surely won't play there next year. And having in mind, that Benetton was only 8-th in the regular Serie A season, we can say, that Motiejunas plays in quite a weak team.

I think they will participate in Euroleague qualification, right? I also doubt they will get to Euroleague anyway, but the fact that they are in top 8 in Italy isn't that shameful. If they will keep Repeša and if he'll have some options to pick new players, Benneton might be interesting team. Even possible "brake out" of Motiejūnas in Eurocup could make a difference.

Dreamcatcher

06-05-2010, 10:51 PM

I think they will participate in Euroleague qualification, right? I also doubt they will get to Euroleague anyway, but the fact that they are in top 8 in Italy isn't that shameful. If they will keep Repeša and if he'll have some options to pick new players, Benneton might be interesting team. Even possible "brake out" of Motiejūnas in Eurocup could make a difference.

The looser of semifinal Pepsi-Armani will play in qualification. If the second italian team play there, it will be Kantu. According to the results in Serie A.

sashikas

11-21-2010, 08:57 AM

Long time no post in this thread. Let's break the silence.

This season Donatas looks more confident and shows better numbers in Benneton, especially in rebounding and personal fouls columns. Off course, it is hard to be objective, whether he has improved or not just seeing the numbers. Last night he has drawn 23 pts and grabbed 7 rebounds just in 16 minutes in a game against Teramo.

Also didn't see this video clip posted anywhere here. Motiejūnas features in #4 and #1
_Z9l0ZJXrJo

sashikas

11-28-2010, 07:57 AM

23 minutes, 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block in Benneton's win against Scavolini 91:59

Straight forward

03-09-2011, 08:36 PM

The drafts is coming closer, let's have some conversation about Motiejunas.
Despite still being pretty poor rebounder and far from being a defensive beast, Motiejunas obviously made a big step forward and his offensive consistency and numbers are really impressive for his age.
"He currently ranks as the 2nd best per-minute scorer in the Italian Lega A, and is doing so in spectacularly efficient fashion, shooting 66% from 2-point range and 46% from behind the arc." Draft Express
He makes 14 points and 6 rebounds in Eurocup.
To put it short it would be hard to expect that he will increase his numbers dramatically next season cause they already are very solid. Having in mind that the boycott, last years drafts were very strong and this year it won't be, so Motiejunas has good chances to be in top 10. To have that in mind, he could still improve in Europe for few years.

So basically I think Motiejunas should go this year and to expect high pick that would increase his chances of good conditions in NBA in the future.

madmax

03-09-2011, 08:50 PM

Straight forward

03-09-2011, 09:22 PM

I personally believe he is gonna be a TOP 5 pick just from pure individual ability alone - 7 footers, who can create their own shot and score in variety of ways come short even in mighty US and A. His style of play and mentality are perfectly fitting NBA basketball, and I see no reason why can't have a career similar to Bargnani (or even better). Dude is legit and will be a force for years to come.

I think defence is the concern that would put off the highest picks. Unless he will show something really special in Eurocup's finals and Italian league. My prediction would be 8- 15 for this year. Top 10 would be a positive goal, IMO.

auris1

03-15-2011, 08:16 PM

If he is not going to Nba next season,what team level in euroleague he is ready for to get some playing time,not just to be bench warmer?
Top 4?(like Barca,Real or Pana/OLY) or maybe like Montepachi,they seem to like liths in there?

Unless he is staying in benneton ,which if i am correct is slashing their budget next season?
And do you think he is ready for this summer and NT?Not like if he is picked,but just ready to play

Straight forward

04-03-2011, 09:05 PM

Finally, a lot of highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFqK-YXlsHs

auris1

04-03-2011, 09:50 PM

Finally, a lot of highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFqK-YXlsHs
damn amateurs
surely you can cut out half of that shit(before/after the shot),and change the soundtrack

hustlerlt

04-04-2011, 07:28 PM

damn amateurs
surely you can cut out half of that shit(before/after the shot),and change the soundtrack
I agree with you,but still at least I've seen a few plays from Motiejunas,so I'm happy :).Also,he definitely has added a lot of weight since leaving Lithuania,which of course is a good thing.

Gytaz

04-04-2011, 08:12 PM

2010-11 Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner: Donatas Montiejunas, Benetton Bwin (http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/ulebcup/home/news/i/84189/3735)

With a great mix of size, talent and know-how, one of the world's top prospects became the real deal this season by leading his team into the Eurocup Finals. For his key role in that achievement and for his impact on Eurocup courts all around the continent, versatile center Donatas Motiejunas of Benetton Basket Bwin has been chosen by Euroleague Basketball as the Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner for 2010-11. In its third season, the Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best Eurocup player who was younger than 22 on July 1 of the summer before the season started. Motiejunas, who turned 20 years old a few days before Benetton started the Eurocup Qualifying Round in September, has been productive beyond his years since then, at both ends of the court. He led Benetton in fouls drawn this season, ranking fourth overall in the Eurocup, while collecting the second-most points, rebounds and blocks on the team. With Motiejunas as one of just two players to start all 14 of its Eurocup games this season, Benetton lost just once. Simply put, no other under-22 player in the Eurocup boasted such numbers, readiness and ability to take his team so deep into the competition as Motiejunas. Indeed, Motiejunas and Benetton can now try to take the last step to glory together at the Eurocup Finals in their own city!

The Rising Star Trophy is part of an expanded awards structure launched in the 2008-09 season meant to enhance recognition of the finest Eurocup players for their efforts on the basketball court throughout the season. Apart from the Eurocup Rising Star, Euroleague Basketball and its in-house experts will also select the Eurocup Coach of the Year, All-Eurocup first and second teams, and the Eurocup MVP. Additionally, the Eurocup Finals MVP award will go the best player at that event as voted by accredited journalists in attendance during the title game.

After helping Benetton qualify for the Eurocup in the preseason, Motiejunas started strong, with 11 points and 7 rebounds in the team's first regular season game against Chorale Roanne. Motiejunas added a team-high 13 points and 7 rebounds to lead his team to a tough road win against PAOK Thessaloniki. When Asefa Estudiantes came to Treviso, Motiejunas shined with a season-best 19 points to give Benetton a 79-72 home win. He had 17 points in Roanne and 16 more against PAOK to make Benetton one of just two teams to finish the regular season undefeated. Motiejunas averaged 14.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in that phase, showing he was more than ready for his second Eurocup season. Despite a slow start in the Last 16, Motiejunas bounced back in consecutive victories against Panellinios and had an outstanding game - 13 points, 9 rebounds, 8 fouls drawn - against Alba Berlin, in a road triumph that lifted Benetton into the Eurocup Quarterfinals. In a direct battle for first place in their Last 16 group, Motiejunas posted 12 points and 6 rebounds in a pivotal win over Cajasol. Despite then battling foul problems in his team's Quarterfinals victory over Goettingen, Motiejunas finished the season averaging 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, a steal and 4.5 fouls drawn in the Eurocup season.

Motiejunas joins Victor Claver of Power Electronics Valencia and Milan Macvan of Hemofarm Vrsac to become the third player to receive the Rising Star Trophy. Now, Motiejunas will be aiming for a second and more important trophy, that of the Eurocup champion, as he tries to help Benetton Basket Bwin reach the winners' podium at the Eurocup Finals in Treviso, Italy on April 16 and 17.

auris1

04-05-2011, 06:06 PM

I agree with you,but still at least I've seen a few plays from Motiejunas,so I'm happy :)
well,if you put it that way,then i agree.

.Also,he definitely has added a lot of weight since leaving Lithuania,which of course is a good thing

well,i added a lot of weight as well since leaving Lithuania - yet to meet a person who would say that is a good thing) they just call me fat

auris1

04-24-2011, 12:45 AM

monster performance
http://www.benettonbasket.it/
http://195.56.77.210/game/64365.html
31points,14rebounds,win after overtime,efficiency +49
Just vow

Lietuvis

04-30-2011, 03:44 PM

monster performance
http://www.benettonbasket.it/
http://195.56.77.210/game/64365.html
31points,14rebounds,win after overtime,efficiency +49
Just vow

Unsung hero!

Straight forward

05-01-2011, 04:52 PM

He improved his post game using his back a lot. And he can finish also with right hand nicely while he is lefty. I like the progression of this guy and looking forward to see him in NT camp. Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpw2adaiHCI

mbenga

05-02-2011, 03:25 PM

With 14 roster sports available there's no excuse to leave neither Motiejunas nor Valanciunas out of the NT, even if the brothers and co are back.

Mindozas

05-02-2011, 05:34 PM

With 14 roster sports available there's no excuse to leave neither Motiejunas nor Valanciunas out of the NT, even if the brothers and co are back.

If only they'll prove they are better than other... Otherwise - no, this EC is not a place for experiments, especially baring in mind how injury prone some of our frontcourt players are

madmax

05-02-2011, 06:33 PM

If only they'll prove they are better than other... Otherwise - no, this EC is not a place for experiments, especially baring in mind how injury prone some of our frontcourt players are

I think Valanciunas already deserves a NT spot - his play and stats in Euroleague confirm this. If only he had more playing time, he would be one of the most valuable players in whole Euroleague. Motiejunas can be really helpful too, especially scoring wise thanks to his ability to easily create his own shot. Both guys should be on the roster this year,but I suspect that our basketball "heads" will declare these players "too young" and "not ready" once again..."dedovschina" is still quite prevalent in our basketball I'm afraid

Straight forward

05-02-2011, 07:03 PM

Having in mind Petravicius' performances lately...Darjus is not shining also...

One thing is sure - it's going to be one of the most interesting camps probably. Talented youngsters competing with grandfathers.

Mindozas

05-02-2011, 07:20 PM

I think Valanciunas already deserves a NT spot - his play and stats in Euroleague confirm this.

Yes, especially in defense :rolleyes: In offense he also barely does anything else than p'n'r. Can't hit a jumper, even doesn't try, can't create his own play...

If only he had more playing time, he would be one of the most valuable players in whole Euroleague.

... of he'd be fouled-out after few more minutes in most of the games :rolleyes: Also he is lucky that there's no such stats line as "points against". It'd be paintfull to watch him against Gasol bros., Turkish frontline, Gortat and Lampe, even against Archibald (like vs Unicaja). Then France with all their hustle under the rim, Serbs... Thnx, but no, not now :rolleyes:

Motiejunas can be really helpful too, especially scoring wise thanks to his ability to easily create his own shot. Both guys should be on the roster this year,but I suspect that our basketball "heads" will declare these players "too young" and "not ready" once again..."dedovschina" is still quite prevalent in our basketball I'm afraid

WTF? Dedovshchina? Open your eyes, both are indeed not ready or better say, there're better players in frontcourt than both of them. Motiejunas, the same like Valanciunas, can barely do anything in defense, moreover in any more important game he simply chokes, the same was in youth champs or this year's Eurocup play-off stages, even Katelynas looked better in Eurocup semi...

If everyone else in frontcourt is healthy and ready - not this year...

auris1

05-02-2011, 08:30 PM

I think Valanciunas already deserves a NT spot -
Sorry Max,i somehow disagree.
To say that he deserves a place would mean that some players like the brothers,Javtokas or even Petras do not.(even Andriuska is real contender,why not)
I hope you get my drift - there should not be free pass for any player.I have no doubt that he is nt material for years to come if he wishes so,but for now...
Although, the other thing i read that he is considered for 2 youth teams already(under 20 euro and under 19 world) which is i think a bit unfair - it is like saying ,sorry mate,we need you to play with kids yet to get some result,otherwise i wont look good on paper.
So for now - he should be selected to the camp,and afterwards i hope kemzura can make his own mind of who to pick for the team.
Another thing that worries me that all his points comes exactly 25 cm from the basket - in this regard Motiejunas is so much more versatile.Out of them two i would say that Donatas might be limited in playing time,but more useful

Straight forward

05-02-2011, 09:40 PM

Mindozas, who are these way better defenders? Despite Javtokas and Petravicius (who is obviously out of shape), Valanciunas is obvious choice. We saw how useful was Andriuskevicius, "big guy who can be useful in defence". Darjus tends to struggle against athletic bigs almost the same way as well as current kid Valanciunas does :p Songaila, Ksistof and Paulius are all PF and undersized for 5 spot. I'm not saying Valanciunas is ready to claim over Spain's or France bigs, but he has frame and he's everyday improving player. Imagine there's no Petras and Darjus and Valanciunas easily getting in as Javtokas' backup.

auris1

05-02-2011, 10:21 PM

Imagine there's no Petras and Darjus and Valanciunas easily getting in as Javtokas' backup.

How 'bout not imagining?
Petras has been benched same way Songaila was>not sure he will be "out of shape " as yet for euro,who knows.
I guess we all like the kid,no doubt...
But really,he is just one of the few to be considered.
And i think this positive thing to say,if you think overall.
Yes,we do have choices ,Valanciunas is one of them

Dreamcatcher

05-02-2011, 10:58 PM

People, you are discussing about Motiejunas, but last 2 seasons being him in Italy you haven't seen him playing! Or almost haven't seen. Various highlights don't show anything. As for me, i actually didn't like his performance in the last year's NT camp. And Kemzura probably too, cause Donatas left the camp. Maybe there were some other reasons, who knows. BTW, some NBA scauts have claimed "he doesn't like the game with all his heart". This statement may seem strangely, but the scauts have a good eye on such things and moreover, they watch the basketball being played by all that young players regularly. Who knows, maybe Kemzura didn't take Donatas to the NT due to some similar reasons.

mbenga

05-03-2011, 02:12 AM

madmax

05-03-2011, 07:32 AM

Sorry Max,i somehow disagree.
To say that he deserves a place would mean that some players like the brothers,Javtokas or even Petras do not.(even Andriuska is real contender,why not)
I hope you get my drift - there should not be free pass for any player.I have no doubt that he is nt material for years to come if he wishes so,but for now...
Although, the other thing i read that he is considered for 2 youth teams already(under 20 euro and under 19 world) which is i think a bit unfair - it is like saying ,sorry mate,we need you to play with kids yet to get some result,otherwise i wont look good on paper.
So for now - he should be selected to the camp,and afterwards i hope kemzura can make his own mind of who to pick for the team.
Another thing that worries me that all his points comes exactly 25 cm from the basket - in this regard Motiejunas is so much more versatile.Out of them two i would say that Donatas might be limited in playing time,but more useful

but that's the issue really - WHO deserves a NT spot better than him really? An uncoordinated scrub Andriuskevicius or some other very tall tree with no basketball skills whatsoever?
How about we look at the positives Jonas brings to the court - hustle, energy, offensive rebounding and quickness in p'n'r situations. Which other lithuanian big really does these things better than him now? Answer this question honestly to yourself. People talk about "defense" , like our NT was ever known for stiffling defensive play...PLEASE. Our basketball philosophy was always fundamental offense and p'n'r execution. And Valanciunas fits perfectly in this approach. Sorry if I'm high on this kid, I just think he's realy special and will be a superstar in the future.

Mindozas

05-03-2011, 08:00 AM

Dreamcatcher

05-03-2011, 08:15 AM

Yea, better keep calling Andriuskevicius. :rolleyes:

Andriuskevicius was called due to big man injuries: Petravicius, brothers.

Gytaz

05-03-2011, 09:07 AM

Here's what the NBA scouts had to say about Donatas. Some of these thoughts aren't very nice...

The 20-year-old Motiejunas has been on the international scene about as long as Vesely, starting out at 16 as a pro for Zalgiris Kaunas and developing his game over the last four years and getting bigger and stronger. He entered his name into last year's Draft but pulled out after being unable to secure a top-12 guarantee in the first round. After that, he underwent oral surgery to remove his tonsils after having throat discomfort for the better part of a year. But there aren't concerns about his long-term health -- "he's had the injuries, but he's very solid and talented," a Northwest Division scout said.

As he has matured physically, Motiejunas' game has changed from a perimeter-based offense to include more of a low-post game, though he is by no means a finished product inside. He can score, especially on the wings, and displays point-forward skills as a passer; one personnel man compared him with former Clippers forward Danny Manning (though another personnel guy strongly disagreed with that notion). But scouts remain concerned about several aspects of his game.

"He doesn't really love basketball," a Central Division executive says. "He doesn't seem to appear to like to do anything that's even a little difficult. That scares you a little bit. The only thing he gets an excellent on is offensive rebounding and putbacks, and that's because he's doing it against midgets."

Said an Atlantic Division exec: "Right now, it's not even close. Vesely is a player and Motiejunas is an unknown. I've seen him play too many times when he would get two rebounds, three rebounds. He's projected in all these mocks to go top 10. I don't think so. I think he lacks passion for the game. He looks like he's got short arms. That might be a factor.

"He gets pushed under (the basket) a lot and then he reaches up. Guys are going up over him to get rebounds. He lacks fire, lacks emotion. Always has the same demeanor on the court. If you're 7 feet tall and you have any hope of coming over here you have to be, routinely, getting 10, 11 boards ... I can't get excited about him."

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/david_aldridge/05/02/big-board-power-forwards/index.html

sagenas

05-03-2011, 09:17 AM

Dreamcatcher

05-03-2011, 05:59 PM

Of course, If Petravicius is healthy, he should be in the tream as Javtokas's backup, no doubt here. I remember him in NT, when he actually was better than Javtokas on the court. And he was one of the best centers in Euroleague playing 2 vs 2, before that MVP of f4 in Eurocupe. But when he went to Milano, things went bad for him (Injuries, small minutes on the court). I woud like to see him in a good condition once more...

mbenga

05-04-2011, 03:52 PM

Of course if everyone is healthy Javtokas, the bros and Petravicius should be there. IDK about Songaila, did he retire from the NT?
But after those the next guys in the list IMO should be Valanciunas and Motiejunas. And with 14 roster spots, at least 1 of them should be there no matter what, and if there's any absence of the aforementioned both of them.

Mindozas

05-04-2011, 04:02 PM

Of course if everyone is healthy Javtokas, the bros and Petravicius should be there. IDK about Songaila, did he retire from the NT?

He thought to do so after 2008 Olympics, but just before the event he got injured and was forced to miss it, so there was no farewell tournament for him and no official retirement. Now he wants to join NT again

But after those the next guys in the list IMO should be Valanciunas and Motiejunas. And with 14 roster spots, at least 1 of them should be there no matter what, and if there's any absence of the aforementioned both of them.

If it'd be some less important tournament like WC or pre-WC Eurobasket, than yes, even both of them should be in roster for the future purposes, but now it's different - EC in Lithuania, Olympic places are at stake, so only the best ones should be there - price is just too big. However, if they'll prove they're better than oldies, I have nothing against their participation

Straight forward

05-04-2011, 09:19 PM

David Locke gives positive comment on Motiejunas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uvJ5rTjsNA

He was pretty much sceptical about Valanciunas playing against Unicaja. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS_-RMKoX9Y&feature=related

Joško Poljak Fan

05-18-2011, 03:01 PM

Here's what the NBA scouts had to say about Donatas. Some of these thoughts aren't very nice...

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/david_aldridge/05/02/big-board-power-forwards/index.html

I can't really comment on what is going on in Donatas's head... which of course is the main factor with any player.
...I just can't help noticing one scout once again is concerned about his wingspan :D :D :D obviously they haven't learn much with the last decade... Rafael Araujo FTW!!!!! :rolleyes:

Straight forward

05-18-2011, 09:29 PM

I can't really comment on what is going on in Donatas's head... which of course is the main factor with any player.
...I just can't help noticing one scout once again is concerned about his wingspan :D :D :D obviously they haven't learn much with the last decade... Rafael Araujo FTW!!!!! :rolleyes:

Not to mention Miličič' monster wingspan and his draft story.

Toxicity

05-19-2011, 08:59 PM

Win on the road for Benetton @ Avellino for the playoff 1st round.

Motiejunas with the incredible 1st half off the bench (21 points in around 10 minutes) where he showed his touch and skills around the rim (baby hooks, turnaround j, spin moves, etc)... finished with 28 points (7/12 from two and 2/3 from 3) and 4 rebounds in 30 minutes.

Straight forward

05-19-2011, 09:10 PM

Toxicity

05-19-2011, 09:28 PM

Nice to hear that. Toxicity, is he ready for the NBA, how do you think?

Well, offensively i think he's ready... he has all the solutions to score against anyone and he's pretty quick and athletic. He's not so strong but he's improved a lot since last year... and he's getting used to be a focal point of the offense (tonight received a lot of passes down low by his teammates) even if he should pass the ball out more not allowing the difense to collapse on him.

Defensively... i don't know. He's not a great rebounder nor a great shot-blocker and he's not the best in team difense but he has improved through the season and he's less a liability right now. The NBA teams shouldn't try to play him center since he's too weak physically and would be exposed like Bargnani in Toronto (and Bargnani had a stronger body in his last year in Treviso, being a real 250lbs big man).

Anyway i think his outlook should be brightful... the kid is legit and can play.

Straight forward

05-19-2011, 09:39 PM

Well, offensively i think he's ready... he has all the solutions to score against anyone and he's pretty quick and athletic. He's not so strong but he's improved a lot since last year... and he's getting used to be a focal point of the offense (tonight received a lot of passes down low by his teammates) even if he should pass the ball out more not allowing the difense to collapse on him.

Defensively... i don't know. He's not a great rebounder nor a great shot-blocker and he's not the best in team difense but he has improved through the season and he's less a liability right now. The NBA teams shouldn't try to play him center since he's too weak physically and would be exposed like Bargnani in Toronto (and Bargnani had a stronger body in his last year in Treviso, being a real 250lbs big man).

Anyway i think his outlook should be brightful... the kid is legit and can play.

Good to hear he might be OK even in the worst scenario - NBA in next season :p The best scenario, Benneton wins Lega A and goes to Euroleague with Motiejunas (right?). I think one more year in Europe, better Euroleague, is something what he needs to polish his offensive game and to improve his defence even more (even if he'll probably never be among best defenders). Looking forward to see him in NT camp.

Toxicity

05-19-2011, 09:46 PM

Good to hear he might be OK even in the worst scenario - NBA in next season :p The best scenario, Benneton wins Lega A and goes to Euroleague with Motiejunas (right?). I think one more year in Europe, better Euroleague, is something what he needs to polish his offensive game and to improve his defence even more (even if he'll probably never be among best defenders). Looking forward to see him in NT camp.

With MPS Siena playing like usual (tonight won by 39 points against Virtus Bo) i think your "best scenario" can't exist... :D

Regarding the one more year in Europe, yes, it would definitely help his development but i think Donatas can go straight to the NBA and improve anyway since the talent is there.

madmax

05-20-2011, 08:05 AM

Good to hear he might be OK even in the worst scenario - NBA in next season :p The best scenario, Benneton wins Lega A and goes to Euroleague with Motiejunas (right?). I think one more year in Europe, better Euroleague, is something what he needs to polish his offensive game and to improve his defence even more (even if he'll probably never be among best defenders). Looking forward to see him in NT camp.

looks like Knicks GM D'Antoni wants this kid in New York next season, so NBA scouts probably feel that he's already good for contributing on the highest level. And I agree with them - I was mightilly impressed by him yesterday, it looked to me like I was watching a grown up kid playing against a bunch of kindergarden younglings the way he was scoring against Avelino. His post game is lethal and authomatic these days and he's drawing fouls at a constant rate on the floor. If our NT still rejects this prodigy this year, then I'm losing all confidence in their ability to assess talent.

arturcia

05-20-2011, 08:51 AM

looks like Knicks GM D'Antoni wants this kid in New York next season, so NBA scouts probably feel that he's already good for contributing on the highest level. And I agree with them - I was mightilly impressed by him yesterday, it looked to me like I was watching a grown up kid playing against a bunch of kindergarden younglings the way he was scoring against Avelino. His post game is lethal and authomatic these days and he's drawing fouls at a constant rate on the floor. If our NT still rejects this prodigy this year, then I'm losing all confidence in their ability to assess talent.

I totally agree with you. Kemzūra must take Motiejunas to the final squad. Especially this year when you can pick 14 players. I think Donatas already is better than Klimavičius and Andriuškevičius. Perhaps Donatas less experienced, but he has undoubted talent to score, which is now required when there is no Kleiza.

auris1

05-21-2011, 06:27 PM

If our NT still rejects this prodigy this year, then I'm losing all confidence in their ability to assess talent.
Max,it is a bit harsh,don't you think so?
Especially after last world cup bronze' medals.
You can not question the selection after successful event,can you?
And lets be honest,Kemzura has done wonders so far.Not even wonders -how about the miracle,eh?
So yes,he should be on the team.
But there is always a chance that he wont be as well.(i would not bet against it myself).
And i can think of a few arguments why he should not be in the team - Maybe he does not fit playing style,maybe he indeed lacks the commitment or maybe there are better players in his position.
None of the above are things i believe .
All we can do is to follow the team and hope for the best either way.

sagenas

05-21-2011, 06:52 PM

when it comes to national team I seriously think about just checking him in camp with first team BUT during those friendly games he should get many minutes and many passes from his teammates. We know that Kleiza as 4th number used to have ball in his hands very often and if we want Motiejūnas to success we need to do the same with him and here's the question - can be the man in the highest level right now? Otherwise I can't see him being very useful...and remembering EuroCup Final Four where Katelynas was much better....I still think Katelynas should be in the national team.

auris1

05-21-2011, 08:18 PM

...and remembering EuroCup Final Four where Katelynas was much better....I still think Katelynas should be in the national team.
So what it is then?
Katelynas instead of him?Or them both in the team?
Katelynas is what, about 28 now? So no surprises coming this way - he is at the most would be a part time player for NT.
Ale Klimavicius or Andriuskevicius part.
Zero minutes for some games,limited in others.God forbid we should rely on players like him,no way.
On the other hand Motiejunas can be X factor.
Even if he does not perform this year,it would count for the future experience years to come.

hustlerlt

05-22-2011, 10:54 AM

On the other hand Motiejunas can be X factor.
Even if he does not perform this year,it would count for the future experience years to come.
My thoughts exactly.Kleiza also wasn't showing stellar results until last year in our NT,so Motiejunas should be there no matter what,especially because Kleiza won't play this year.

sagenas

05-22-2011, 02:32 PM

So what it is then?
Katelynas instead of him?Or them both in the team?
Katelynas is what, about 28 now? So no surprises coming this way - he is at the most would be a part time player for NT.
Ale Klimavicius or Andriuskevicius part.
Zero minutes for some games,limited in others.God forbid we should rely on players like him,no way.
On the other hand Motiejunas can be X factor.
Even if he does not perform this year,it would count for the future experience years to come.

Come on, do you want to do experiments during EuroBasket in LITHUANIA? Not every year we get chance to hold EB so we need to do our best..of course it's risky but I'm not very fascinated by that.

hustlerlt

05-22-2011, 03:04 PM

Come on, do you want to do experiments during EuroBasket in LITHUANIA? Not every year we get chance to hold EB so we need to do our best..of course it's risky but I'm not very fascinated by that.
Our NT was experimenting during the Sydney Olympic games and look how that turned out.Believe me,Motiejunas is a better option than Klimavicius or Andriuskevicius.Klimavicius is a beast only against Rytas because their big men sucked past two years and I still can't understand why Andriuskevicius was taken instead of Motiejunas last year.

sagenas

05-22-2011, 03:11 PM

Our NT was experimenting during the Sydney Olympic games and look how that turned out.Believe me,Motiejunas is a better option than Klimavicius or Andriuskevicius.Klimavicius is a beast only against Rytas because their big men sucked past two years and I still can't understand why Andriuskevicius was taken instead of Motiejunas last year.

Of course Motiejūnas is ahead of those two but as PF I would put it like this:

PF: D.Songaila, P.Jankūnas, K.Lavrinovič

Or similar to that.

madmax

05-22-2011, 06:57 PM

Of course Motiejūnas is ahead of those two but as PF I would put it like this:

PF: D.Songaila, P.Jankūnas, K.Lavrinovič

Or similar to that.

is Songaila even gonna play and is he even better now than Motiejunas? Mind you that Donatas is a leader of Serie A club and is abusing his opponents in every match basically. Tune in anytime they play and he is always outscoring his defender. I'm not saying that Songala sucks or anything, but I don't know if at 33 he's still valuable enough for NT.

Straight forward

05-22-2011, 08:50 PM

Dreamcatcher

05-22-2011, 09:09 PM

I don't get these "you can't experiment this year". Sure you can :p If Motiejunas will show he is worth to be in the final roster he'll be, and he'll get minutes. I mean, no-one ever experiment, best players will be picked.

Katelynas is not national team material, IMO. Klimavicius is better player than him.

Absolutely don't agree. Katelynas is better of what i have seen. I'm 100% sure he would be in NT in Turkey if not his injury. While WC showed that Klimavicius is not NT material. We will see this time, if not any injuries, Katelynas should be quite competetive among others PF.

auris1

05-27-2011, 08:23 PM

People,people
Stop believing this hype that Lithuanian basketball will end if do not win 2011 euro.
As things stand today,we have no chance,lets be honest,especially since loosing Kleiza.
Garastas wants his last hooray no matter what.
I do not.
We all will live beyond 2011(hopefully) to support our nt and he is that old that he does not care.
And unfortunately we have our ups and downs nearly every year.
Them dead man team walking with siska jaska macas songaila etc are long time done.
Team with Katelynas ,KLimavicius etc have no chance either.
So why not to enjoy the big bang with our youngsters?The team that will get medals in the future?

sagenas

05-28-2011, 10:00 AM

If we have no chance, if Songaila is too bad for it, if Motiejūnas is already player to lead us and if Katelynas is too bad for our national team then I have nothing more to say :rolleyes:

arturcia

05-30-2011, 06:35 AM

If we have no chance, if Songaila is too bad for it, if Motiejūnas is already player to lead us and if Katelynas is too bad for our national team then I have nothing more to say :rolleyes:

Well we really have no chance to fight for the medals. We can try, but....

Songaila? do you really think that a player who spent season on the bench might be more useful than a young talented player? when was the last time you saw Darius playing?

no one says that this year Donatas will be NT leader, but he may be the discovery of the championship.

hustlerlt

05-30-2011, 09:52 AM

Well we really have no chance to fight for the medals. We can try, but....
The same was said before last years World Championship,but there we lost only one time.

madmax

05-30-2011, 12:35 PM

The same was said before last years World Championship,but there we lost only one time.

Spain, Turkey and probably Serbia will be too much for us anyway...then you throw in Slovenia, Croatia and we will be in a dogfight for a TOP 5 finish, trust me. Home court won't matter much when other teams will have much more talented players. If you think that the likes of Kalnietis or Jankunas can save our asses then think again. Without Kleiza and his scoring we are doomed

Toxicity

05-31-2011, 08:45 PM

Tonight game showed why Donatas has still a long way to go... Shaun Stonerook played very physical defense on him, pressing and keeping him out of the game... Motje finished with just 4 points on 1/7 FG but the main thing is not the bad field goals percentages, rather his lack of response to Stonerook and a somewhat passive way to play. Siena is clearly the best defense he can play at this stage, so in the next games we'll see how he can handle it.

sagenas

06-02-2011, 05:12 PM

Well we really have no chance to fight for the medals. We can try, but....

Songaila? do you really think that a player who spent season on the bench might be more useful than a young talented player? when was the last time you saw Darius playing?

no one says that this year Donatas will be NT leader, but he may be the discovery of the championship.

C'mon, everyone said the same before WC, I didn't agree then and I was right. :D Home court advantage can be crucial here...you know, as Kleiza said about playing in Siemens arena: "In Siemens arena everything can be possible...just remember the game against Spain." and right now who cares is it Siemens arena, Cido arena or any other. Just believe and be happy with every victory of us. :)

Songaila still is good enough to play, the biggest question is his shape. :) And Motiejūnas is still young, don't need to rush...and when you expect too much, you get nothing so don't overreact about Valančiūnas and Motiejūnas.

arturcia

06-03-2011, 06:57 AM

C'mon, everyone said the same before WC, I didn't agree then and I was right. :D Home court advantage can be crucial here...you know, as Kleiza said about playing in Siemens arena: "In Siemens arena everything can be possible...just remember the game against Spain." and right now who cares is it Siemens arena, Cido arena or any other. Just believe and be happy with every victory of us. :)

Songaila still is good enough to play, the biggest question is his shape. :) And Motiejūnas is still young, don't need to rush...and when you expect too much, you get nothing so don't overreact about Valančiūnas and Motiejūnas.

Well, last year we had a player who could score when most needed - Kleiza. This year Linas will not be there and it can be a significant problem despite home court. And again, no one says, that Jonas or Donatas must be starters or leader this year, but they may surprise. Especially in the 14 man squad.

Mindozas

06-03-2011, 07:32 AM

Well, last year we had a player who could score when most needed - Kleiza. This year Linas will not be there and it can be a significant problem despite home court. And again, no one says, that Jonas or Donatas must be starters or leader this year, but they may surprise. Especially in the 14 man squad.

IMO the question should be who has more chances for surprise? Some oldie like K.Lavrinovic, Songaila or Motiejunas, some oldies like D.Lavrinovic, Petravicius or Valanciunas. I'd go for oldies here, without any doubts...
Motiejunas is not ready for big battles, this was obvious this season in Eurocup play-offs and Final4, now he is totally lost in Lega semis vs MdP. I don't give a f*ck if he scored some 20pts in some regular season games, Eurobasket with it's intensity, pressure (especially in Lithuania) isn't even comparable to it...
It's the same regarding Valanciunas, he is great prospect, but who would you like to see hustlin' against Gasol bros., Turkish, French, Serbian frontlines? He is so weak defensively so far... He can compensate it with his will, passion for a game, but it's not enough.
C'mon we are talking here about Eurobasket in Lithuania, Olympic tickets at stake, not some camp for future stars. Why to force things up, their time will come sooner or later. There shouldn't be any places given only for future purposes, only the best should be there. Period.

sagenas

06-03-2011, 08:10 AM

arturcia

06-03-2011, 12:05 PM

About youngsters Mindozas said right what I think.

Yes, then we had Kleiza but we had him in Poland too. :rolleyes: And even before last WC I guess not so many people think that Kleiza will play like that and carry team all the way on his shoulders. Instead of Kleiza we will find someone else... :)

Yes, you're right about the fact that best players mus be in the team. but are you 100% sure that Songaila or Petravičius will be in good shape? Do you think it is better if old instead of youngplayers will sit on the bench? I wrote that Jonas or Donatas could be like 13-14 players on the team. And i realy think, that they are already better players then Andriuškevičius or Klimavičius.

sagenas

06-03-2011, 01:06 PM

Yes, you're right about the fact that best players mus be in the team. but are you 100% sure that Songaila or Petravičius will be in good shape? Do you think it is better if old instead of youngplayers will sit on the bench? I wrote that Jonas or Donatas could be like 13-14 players on the team. And i realy think, that they are already better players then Andriuškevičius or Klimavičius.

I'm pretty sure about Klimavičius and Andriuškevičius being worse too but we have more good players. Of course I can't guarantee about Petravičius and Songaila being in good shape but if they could get into the shape before EuroBasket starts, they surely are better players right now. Of course, Motiejūnas can be candidate but I don't know about that...I don't think he would want to get only trash minutes against worst teams and don't have big role in the team. Besides that, Valančiūnas' schedule is quite troublesome too, so we shouldn't let him to overdo it.

I can imagine roster like that:

C: Petravičius, Javtokas
PF: Songaila, Jankūnas, K.Lavrinovič, Katelynas
SF: Jasaitis, Kuzminskas
SG: Kaukėnas, Gecevičius, Pocius (sometimes as SF too), Delininkaitis (may play some minutes as PG like last year)
PG: Kalnietis, Jasikevičius

But we still don't know about some players...

EDIT: oh, forgot Seibutis...well, may be Kuzminskas cut from this roster then and Pocius/Seibutis could get time as SF..besides that, Katelynas can play as SF too.

Mindozas

06-03-2011, 01:29 PM

Yes, you're right about the fact that best players mus be in the team. but are you 100% sure that Songaila or Petravičius will be in good shape? Do you think it is better if old instead of youngplayers will sit on the bench? I wrote that Jonas or Donatas could be like 13-14 players on the team. And i realy think, that they are already better players then Andriuškevičius or Klimavičius.

If they'll be better (Motiejunas and Valanciunas) - I'll have no problems with them bein' in final squad. I won't take my words back - there should be the best, it doesn't matter how old they are, where they're playin' and etc.
It apllies for bench too. Tournament might be long and tough. There might be 11 games in just 18 days or so, so rotation will be needed badly. Against teams like Spain or Turkey we might use one guys in frontcourt more, against GB or Poland others and etc, depends on rival. Unluckily for Lithuania, most probably there'll be only 1 easy game vs team from add. qualifyin' round. Other might be heavy as hell.
Regarding Klimavicius, I'd prefer him over Motiejunas for the games vs Turkey or Spain (or France later). Atleast he can hustle in defense, offensivelly both would be quite useless vs strong frontcours those teams has. But overall, currently there is no place for both. Moreover, I don't think this question will matter much, cause I don't expect to see Klimavicius in camps, also have doubts about Andriuskevicius bein' there.

auris1

06-03-2011, 07:03 PM

Regarding Kleiza - you have to remember that he started playing in NT at very young age (since 2007) or even before,not sure.So it took him what - 3 major tournaments of being fringe player and a failure in Poland to shine as a superstar. And Donatas will not become a super trooper in just one tournament.By denying him this chance of an early start we are putting ourselves of delaying his rise.Same goes to Valanciunas.
But then i have to ask myself if it would be justifiable to deny places in Nt for people who can deliver at this very moment.
And hence the example of Mazutis and Eitutavicius(or Gustas,or Prekevicius etc).
This gamble does not pay off.
We do not gain anything by employing mediocre player in his mid or late twenties.
But we might gain something for the future if we give a chance to younger generation.
I think this will be difficult choice for Kemzura as well.

Mindozas

06-03-2011, 07:52 PM

Kleiza started in 2006, but he was waaaay more ready for NT than any of Valanciunas or Motiejunas. He already could contribute a lot since his 1st tournament and wasn't bench player, so it was fully deserved place for him. Only thing he lacked was International or better say - European bball experience. He was NBA type of player. Also I don't think it was coincidence that he played his best tournament exactly after spending season in Europe. So it's kinda different cases

sagenas

06-03-2011, 08:14 PM

Regarding Kleiza - you have to remember that he started playing in NT at very young age (since 2007) or even before,not sure.So it took him what - 3 major tournaments of being fringe player and a failure in Poland to shine as a superstar.

You're wrong. Kleiza was already NBA player, did fine but he wasn't the same European type player and only after PLAYING SEASON IN OLYMPIACOS he started to play well (besides that..he was usually used as SF but last time Kemzūra used him as PF where he can deliver better).

While right now Valančiūnas and Motiejūnas are playing European basketball and are having problems in the level they play... :)

Straight forward

06-05-2011, 08:52 AM

I think you guys missing one point - Motiejunas is already more matured player than Jonas.

I think he has fair chances to make the final roster, specially when only Ksistof stands as clear starting line up 4 after Linas' injury. I don't see Klimavičius or Katelynas doing better against Siena's defence :rolleyes: And these players are going to push over Spain's front court, good luck! Call me sceptical, but we don't have defensive liability against such teams as Spain currently if we're talking about 4, 5 positions. Lithuania never won a single medal because of defence, it always was more about offence. There's no difference if it will be Katelynas, Klimavicius or Motiejunas. These player most likely would have small impact and while Donatas and Jonas are out of the sky compared to these two, I would go with young players any minute, cause these two might be braking hooks already in Olympics and the experience of Eurobasket would mean a lot for them.

Katelynas, Klimavicius...are you serious here? Valanciunas looked better than Klimavicius in LKL finals for fuck sake :p http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbF1X10UXHw

madmax

06-05-2011, 12:24 PM

Motiejunas should definitely be in the final roster purely for offensive capabilities. He could provide a nice offensive boost off the bench if our team needs it against certain teams. I don't see what Klimavicius can offer to NT really - was he doing anything last year worth of mentioning? Current Valanciunas is a much better player than him and that speaks volumes about this mediocre player...

sagenas

06-05-2011, 01:55 PM

You really forgot how Motiejūnas cocky was used to be. If he is like that right now too, then he wouldn't like to have as big role in the team as Andriuškevičius had last time. :)

Mindozas

06-06-2011, 07:07 AM

Straight forward

06-06-2011, 11:34 AM

Why the heck are you bringin' Klimavicius or Katelynas here as options? PF spot most likely will be Ksystof, Songaila, Jankunas. Those two are no rivals here. Atleast some injury will happen. Do we need 4 PF?
And that comparison of Valanciunas and Klimavicius also quite strange, to say the least. Pure C and pure PF.... What they has in common?

It's easy to make such statement after Kemzura's list ;) You guys were discussing Klimavicius and Katelynas here. Anyway, Kemzura just approved my thoughts and I think it's going to be one of the most interesting camps: huge (but young) prospects against proven, but struggling olds (Petravicius, Songaila, Darjus).

Mindozas

06-06-2011, 11:39 AM

It's easy to make such statement after Kemzura's list ;) You guys were discussing Klimavicius and Katelynas here. Anyway, Kemzura just approved my thoughts and I think it's going to be one of the most interesting camps: huge (but young) prospects against proven, but struggling olds (Petravicius, Songaila, Darjus).

Take a look at the time of the post, there wasn't any list then ;) However, after it, probably there is no point to continue this discussion :)

auris1

06-07-2011, 12:26 AM

You're wrong. Kleiza was already NBA player, did fine but he wasn't the same European type player and only after PLAYING SEASON IN OLYMPIACOS he started to play well)

Kleiza started in 2006, but he was waaaay more ready for NT than any of Valanciunas or Motiejunas. He already could contribute a lot since his 1st tournament and wasn't bench player, so it was fully deserved place for him. Only thing he lacked was International or better say - European bball experience. He was NBA type of player. Also I don't think it was coincidence that he played his best tournament exactly after spending season in Europe. So it's kinda different cases
My thoughts exactly .
Donatas might had been already NBA player,and probably will be next year(things going well to him).
So Donatas already has an advantage in playing european basketball,right?
But Linas apart from his talent has this enormous capability of being a very determined person, and,more importantly, as we have seen last year - being a leader.
I hope that Motiejunas will have balls in a camp to prove his worth.
So that is the big question for me - is he a man enough.Does he really wants it badly?
Time will show.

CKR13

06-24-2011, 01:33 AM

Motiejunas was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves 20th Overall.

BBallfanJ

06-24-2011, 01:34 AM

Trade Bait.

rikhardur

06-24-2011, 01:36 AM

Trade Bait.
Rockets it seems.

auris1

06-25-2011, 07:20 PM

Rockets it seems.
well done for him.
rockets or no rockets,he has done good.No well,but good.
My point is that the saying that he had lack of enthusiasm might have played a role in this,but i called it a bullshit.

Straight forward

07-01-2011, 06:13 PM

Well, he's surely the next big thing in press conferences, ask Kevin McHale :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui5qthxTVvw

turk-jugoslav

07-04-2011, 07:29 PM

Motiejunas is a overrated

sagenas

07-05-2011, 10:59 AM

Motiejunas is a overrated

He's underrated. He's very impressive offensively and I even think he can have better career than Valančiūnas. The most important thing which Motiejūnas should change is his opinion on everything what he does. If he could work as hard and as Valančiūnas and with the same passion, he would become beast.

auris1

07-06-2011, 10:35 PM

He's underrated. He's very impressive offensively and I even think he can have better career than Valančiūnas. If he could work as hard and as Valančiūnas and with the same passion, he would become beast.
Good one mate.
I do not know if some people realise,but they are both are the same height -213cm.
Now - lets just imagine,if they played one on one.D has more moves and he is so much better shooter.Well,he is a shooter.Jonas is just raw material now.Strong and lean.But all he can be is just double double guy(points/rebounds) - where D can be so much more versatile.
I would really put my money on D in this scenario.

madmax

07-06-2011, 11:23 PM

Good one mate.
I do not know if some people realise,but they are both are the same height -213cm.
Now - lets just imagine,if they played one on one.D has more moves and he is so much better shooter.Well,he is a shooter.Jonas is just raw material now.Strong and lean.But all he can be is just double double guy(points/rebounds) - where D can be so much more versatile.
I would really put my money on D in this scenario.

Valanciunas is raw?:confused: He's getting better offensively every day and now he has a patented post move where he's turning arround and shooting a semi-hook effectively. He abused americans with this move plenty of times. Now you will say these are only kids? Well, he's a kid too and yet he still played as a 18 years old starting center in Euroleague team and was the most effective rebounder if we judge him by advanced stats. Jonas will be perennial All-Star and franchise player in NBA, Donatas could be one if he changes his attitude only...

auris1

07-09-2011, 03:58 PM

Valanciunas is raw?:confused: He's getting better offensively every day and now he has a patented post move where he's turning arround and shooting a semi-hook effectively. He abused americans with this move plenty of times. Now you will say these are only kids? Well, he's a kid too and yet he still played as a 18 years old starting center in Euroleague team and was the most effective rebounder if we judge him by advanced stats. Jonas will be perennial All-Star and franchise player in NBA, Donatas could be one if he changes his attitude only...
I meant it in a good way.
He has good set of basic skills,and i am sure he will adapt successfully in NBA.Dominating in this championship?
That what he is suppose to do,right?
But i hope you agree that he needs to step up a level or two.IF he was 25 now with the same set skills ,not 19,you would not regard him as highly,would you?

And i still do not get what is wrong with Donatas attitude?
He improved immensely in Italy,established himself in a decent team,although he lacked stability in some games ,true.
Maybe people are just misreading his facial expressions or body language with his laid back attitude.
But really,there is no point in arguing and trying to guess the future.
I firmly believe that both of them can equally be good players on the highest level.

Hepcat

09-11-2011, 04:21 PM

What would you say Donatas needs to do to improve his game?

:confused:

sagenas

09-11-2011, 06:17 PM

What would you say Donatas need to do to improve his game?

:confused:

Defense and athletism. The most important is defense..it's really big issue for him. Everything else should come with experience.

Straight forward

11-09-2011, 09:27 PM

madmax

11-10-2011, 08:06 AM

19 points and 9 rebounds tonight against UNICS. 12,5 and 6 rebounds season average so far. Prokom is far from elite team off course, but that doesn't mean all game goes on Motiejunas. Contrary, except the last game he was unused and didn't have enough touches. Overall, I like his development. He improved his body, rebounds and positioning (still not the best defender around, but already decent). I think he needs to be even more aggressive at offensive end and to stick with penetration and post game.
Watching our power forwards this season, Motiejunas is a lock for NT 2012 in my account.

what is a lock in our eyes is not always a lock according to our coaches view:rolleyes: As for Donatas, he is currently our best player at PF position and cutting him from the NT this summer was probably the dumbest selection decision I've ever seen...forgetting all of that, I hope he cuts on 3 point attempts and dedicates himself solely on his iso and post-up game, where he is already very good and elite player. As for his defense, I doubt he is gonna develop into monster here, but his size should be more of a factor on this end too. All in all, I see him playing in NBA next season anyway:cool:

hustlerlt

11-10-2011, 02:23 PM

19 points and 9 rebounds tonight against UNICS. 12,5 and 6 rebounds season average so far. Prokom is far from elite team off course, but that doesn't mean all game goes on Motiejunas. Contrary, except the last game he was unused and didn't have enough touches. Overall, I like his development. He improved his body, rebounds and positioning (still not the best defender around, but already decent). I think he needs to be even more aggressive at offensive end and to stick with penetration and post game.
Watching our power forwards this season, Motiejunas is a lock for NT 2012 in my account.
Yeah,his stats are pretty good and it looks like he should be a pretty good player for our NT,but for goodness sake,he needs to stop shooting so many 3 pointers.He's a decent shooter,but he just can't continue to take so many shots during the game.After just 4 games he already shot from long range for 16 times!That's 4 a game!Of course if he would be hitting them with a nice percentage I wouldn't be saying that,but he's shooting at 18.8%!He only made 3 shots,which is really terrible.

auris1

11-12-2011, 08:13 PM

For once,i watched the whole game on Wednesday with Donatas.I am glad to report back that he is no more junior level.This was a game of a young man playing a tough game against seasoned pros,and in a way coming on top of them. he had this deadly penetration ,being back to the opponent and spinning towards the free throw line and finishing with a nice half hook from 4-5 feet(i hope it makes sense,if not,just watch highlights).He got fouled like 3 times by Veremejenko in a first quarter,missed a few ,and scored most of them shots.
3 pointers - what the fuck with all this expertise in here again?
Motiejunas does have a range,including 3 pointers.You do not get the whole picture just by looking at the percentages.I think he missed 2 shots,another was in dying seconds of 24,but hit the shot, almost crucial 3 pointer,that wasn't to be, late in the game,because they got outscored in the end.
Surely,he will never be above 40-45 percent,but not many people are nowadays,just few of them.But it is relevant that he has this option,and to be honest,who cares between us as long as he practices his shot for Polish team? )))
Rebounding - he seems fragile whilst doing it - his natural reaction is to step back instead of getting full frontal contact confronting opponent.
But i hope he will build up his body mass and strength gradually .
So all in all - i was bloody impressed by the way he acted in the game - once he got the ball,he knew what he wanted to do with it - not to drop it like a hot potato and get rid of it,but to attack the basket in a right way - playing one on one,shooting straight away or giving an assist.Very confident game.
I am very confident in saying that he is more than ready for our nt today.
Even more- he should be one of our key players come next year Olympics
.

madmax

11-13-2011, 07:46 PM

Another very solid performance from Donatas against probably the best team in Europe at the moment - 21 pts and 9 rebs against CSKA. He rushed some shots arround the basket and once again was making his best "3 point specialist" impersonation, but otherwise his game is taking leaps forward. I suspect his individual offensive prowess is already NBA role player level, and he seems to have improved his movement and stamina quite a lot too. All in all, D-Mo is becoming one hell of a player

Straight forward

11-13-2011, 09:00 PM

I am very confident in saying that he is more than ready for our nt today.
Even more- he should be one of our key players come next year Olympics
.

First he has to find his way to the roster of NT finally. The head coach is the same - that's not the best thing for Motiejūnas and not too much space to consider any roles till that day :p

However I predict that even Kemzūra will select him this summer and I would like to see him as a backup of Kleiza at 4 (Jankunas as a 3d option). On other hand I can easily see both Kleiza and Motiejunas playing together.

And I don't really care if Jankunas is still as good or still better than Motiejunas. I would gladly see Motiejunas having a credit like Jonas got this summer, because if Jankunas is one of the key players of Lithuanian NT it means it's a weak or average NT. As a fan I would rather have an average NT composed of young big talents than average NT composed of average matured players.

Prokom - CSKA highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kPEU6pxUwY

Take a look at 1:10. Seems like he wasn't joking with that "if he (Howard) can catch me, than we'll see" :p

auris1

11-14-2011, 07:12 PM

First he has to find his way to the roster of NT finally. The head coach is the same - that's not the best thing for Motiejūnas and not too much space to consider any roles till that day :p

However I predict that even Kemzūra will select him this summer and I would like to see him as a backup of Kleiza at 4 (Jankunas as a 3d option). On other hand I can easily see both Kleiza and Motiejunas playing together.
Well,i think Kemzura was under immense pressure to "deliver" - no matter what.And i think at some point he caved in.I think it is safe to say that he had more than one "adviser" behind his back.But...Now it is all down to natural selection,where our veterans are getting "that" old that there is no denial of the need to make changes.Plus,i guess,Sabas could be more reasonable.
Anyway,i am not even sure why do you consider Jankunas as our top choice(or even second or third).Not sure what happened to him,but anyway,this is not about him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kPEU6pxUwY[/url]

ATTN: Hepcat - video contains cheerleading

Straight forward

11-14-2011, 08:53 PM

Anyway,i am not even sure why do you consider Jankunas as our top choice(or even second or third).Not sure what happened to him,but anyway,this is not about him.

I mentioned Jankunas because I think he is a solid role player. And I hope the selection at 4 will be Kleiza, Motiejunas, Jankunas and no old and slow Songaila and no injury prone and always out of shape in national team Ksistof.

As I said before I hope Kemzura will let go all veterans except Javtokas who isn't exactly a veteran.

auris1

11-16-2011, 06:16 PM

As I said before I hope Kemzura will let go all veterans except Javtokas who isn't exactly a veteran.
My sentiments exactly.
Even in this season they (veterans)were barely "legal".
Next year they should be collecting their free bus passes surely)

Straight forward

12-04-2011, 09:14 PM

VTB league today against Nymburk CEZ:
35 minutes, 19pts (6/9 fg, 1/4 3pts, 4/8 ft), 18 rebounds, 1 block, +27efficiency

I think it's his rebounding record.

Migelitas

12-05-2011, 09:41 AM

5 years ago in U16 Championship against Ukraine he grabbed also 18 rebounds.

arturcia

12-08-2011, 06:10 AM

and new record is.... 21 !!!

it was week of rebounds for Donatas :)

Straight forward

12-10-2011, 01:29 PM

Mindozas

12-10-2011, 01:53 PM

The clash between Motiejunas and Valančiūnas, Prokom against Rytas tonight, 16CET. http://www.lrytas.lt/videonews/live/

Off course, match up is not direct probably as Motiejūnas playing at 4 and Valančiūnas 5, but still the first time these dudes playing against each other.

It's more Motiejunas vs Katelynas. Katelynas kicked his ass last time they've met in Eurocup, it'll interesting who will win the match-up today. However, poor timin' for me - too much footie on schedule to watch this game :o

Straight forward

12-10-2011, 04:02 PM

It's more Motiejunas vs Katelynas. Katelynas kicked his ass last time they've met in Eurocup, it'll interesting who will win the match-up today. However, poor timin' for me - too much footie on schedule to watch this game :o

Well now Motiejunas kicked Katelynas ass. Even if he had a bad shooting night, he came up with clutch performance. Pretty horrible game at the end became a heck of fun. Nice for Donatas winning the game with the difficult lay up!

Mindozas

12-10-2011, 04:22 PM

Well now Motiejunas kicked Katelynas ass. Even if he had a bad shooting night, he came up with clutch performance. Pretty horrible game at the end became a heck of fun. Nice for Donatas winning the game with the difficult lay up!

Saw some last actions. Motiejunas finally managed to hit free-throws at the end on the game (maybe I've missed some earlier, but as much as I saw he hit all of them) and that decisive shot was also though, but good. It should kick some confidence into the team and of course Motiejunas himself, finally a close game won...

Straight forward

12-10-2011, 04:29 PM

Saw some last actions. Motiejunas finally managed to hit free-throws at the end on the game (maybe I've missed some earlier, but as much as I saw he hit all of them) and that decisive shot was also though, but good. It should kick some confidence into the team and of course Motiejunas himself, finally a close game won...

Yeah, Prokom has 2 or 3 victories in a row. Too bad they have no chances for top 16 because it would be fun to follow Motiejunas' progression in Euroleague further. Motiejunas becoming a player with every game.

hustlerlt

12-10-2011, 06:54 PM

It was weird seeing Motiejunas hitting free throws :D .Seriously though I wouldn't call this game a good one for him.He missed a bunch of shots,didn't rebound really well and a lot of the time he was just standing in the corner of the three point line.He's best,when he posts up.He's really quick and usually can trick his defender really easlily,but he chooses to spend too much time on the three point line,which I don't really like.It was a shame to see Rytas lose today,but at least it was Donatas with the game winner.

BBallfanJ

12-10-2011, 08:27 PM

Is Motiejunas staying in Europe this year?

Mindozas

12-10-2011, 08:53 PM

Is Motiejunas staying in Europe this year?

Yes..

Straight forward

12-11-2011, 12:44 PM

Highlights of the match-up ;)

http://www.lrytas.lt/videonews/?id=13236011951322791655&sk=3

turk-jugoslav

12-12-2011, 09:49 AM

I said '' Motiejunas is a overrated'' in the past.I was wrong.Jonas and Enes are overrated.Donatas,Mirotic and Vucevic are the future of European basketball

Straight forward

12-12-2011, 10:16 AM

I said '' Motiejunas is a overrated'' in the past.I was wrong.Jonas and Enes are overrated.Donatas,Mirotic and Vucevic are the future of European basketball

No offense, but one of the most stupid post I've recently read in international forums. First you saying that you were wrong and this way you approving that the players' qualities are constantly changing, than you declaring that the future is exactly this and that. How will you call your self if Valančiūnas and Enes after two years (being at Motiejūnas' age) will be braking the boards as no-one did before? I mean you were the one who trashed this thread saying how Motiejūnas sucks and you still can't learn even from you own mistakes?

auris1

12-12-2011, 11:19 PM

I said '' Motiejunas is a overratedThank you for your honesty - but once wrong,you can not go back'' in the past.I was wrong.Jonas and Enes are overrated.Donatas,Mirotic and Vucevic are the future of European basketballThank you for your honesty - but once wrong,you can not go back

auris1

12-12-2011, 11:22 PM

Is Motiejunas staying in Europe this year?

I hope he moves on Euroleague 16 team

Straight forward

12-13-2011, 08:15 PM

Rockets fans are filling their forums with idea that Motiejūnas should be in their team this year already :p

BTW, I found it fun to sneak into these forums just to realise Span666 is trolling rockets forums about how badly Motiejūnas sucks ;) That guy is really something.

auris1

12-19-2011, 10:17 PM

Rockets fans are filling their forums with idea that Motiejūnas should be in their team this year already :p

The only thing i am certain that he should change his team after the last game in euroleague this week.
After that,who knows...

arturcia

12-22-2011, 06:16 AM

what was Motiejunas doing last night? 4 missed three pointers and 1 turnover in first 4minutes? wtf?

Dreamcatcher

12-22-2011, 08:53 AM

what was Motiejunas doing last night? 4 missed three pointers and 1 turnover in first 4minutes? wtf?

He's overdoing with those threes. He made 1/9 last 2 games. Overall he made 46 in 10 games with 30%, too much for PF. As i've seen, some of them were just ridiculous.

hustlerlt

12-22-2011, 05:45 PM

I'm telling you,his biggest problem is that he shoots too many threes.Sure,he can hit them,but needs to stop hanging around the three point line so long.He can be really effective as an post-up player,but instead of that he spends most of his time far away from the basket.There are other aspects of his game that he must improve,like free throw shooting(how can a shooter only convert 45.5% of his chances?) and defense,but coaches must demand him to play closer to the basket.

macleopard13

01-22-2012, 08:29 PM

Motiejunas isn't a very consistent player at the moment - one day he'll have 15+ pts and 7+ rebs, but the next day, he'll have 10-11 pts and 5 rebs in the same amount of playing time. He needs to be more consistent. Plus, his FT shooting is atrocious. He is very skilled offensively, but needs to improve in few areas. I don't see him in the NBA right now.

Straight forward

01-29-2012, 08:25 PM

madmax

01-29-2012, 08:46 PM

21 points , 9 rebounds, 26 efficiency in 33 minutes in VTB league.

I saw this game a little bit and I think Motiejūnas already might be the best low post Lithuanian player. He penetrates really quickly and if gets closed in one side he spins to the other and finds the shot with other hand. He still spends too much time standing outside though and I can't understand that. He's a beast inside and should work there exactly.

Will be interesting to see if CSKA will shut him off. Last time he was great against CSKA, Kirilenko didn't play though.

Vorontsevich still outplayed him in that game though...
I think his main problem is his lack of proper basketball IQ. He takes way too many dumb shots for a player of his size...but I still think that with him on the roster our NT would have qualified for Olympics last year ( I'm yet to forgive Kemzura for cutting him from NT camp):mad:

Straight forward

01-29-2012, 09:07 PM

Vorontsevich still outplayed him in that game though...
I think his main problem is his lack of proper basketball IQ. He takes way too many dumb shots for a player of his size...but I still think that with him on the roster our NT would have qualified for Olympics last year ( I'm yet to forgive Kemzura for cutting him from NT camp):mad:

I think his IQ is just fine. He's a good passer, he reads the game pretty good. I think it's about mentality and attitude. Probably he finds himself as highly universal player and he tends to believe he should shoot these threes. He has around 30% accuracy from downtown that's not tragedy, but I believe he should stick to low post game better and shoot only very opened threes (and work with that more). When he will polish his triples better, that should be his big weapon no doubt. Probably Pačėsas likes him around the line because that opens space for other players.

Straight forward

01-29-2012, 09:09 PM

macleopard13

01-30-2012, 03:45 AM

If Kemzura will use Motiejunas in the post, then it will all be good. Valanciunas-Motiejunas-Kleiza front court will probably be the best front court in the whole tournament (except for maybe Dwight-Griffin-Durant (or LeBron) front court). Valanciunas will provide us with boards, dunks and hooks, Motiejunas will provide us with jumpers, clever layups, a few boards and Kleiza will be our scoring machine. This could be most dangerous NT we ever had. So Motiejunas will definitely be needed this summer.

I hope we'll enter the finals this time and not screw up like we did against Spain in 2008 Olympic semis (we were leading by 2 or 3 points, I think, and then Jasikevicius began "showing off". He made 2-3 turnovers in a row and we ended up losing 86:91) or 2004 Olympic semis (we just left Italians wide open for three-pointers and they simply outscored us 91:100). We just can't make those mistakes anymore. I want at least silver instead of fourth or bronze :cool:.

Mindozas

01-30-2012, 08:37 AM

Valanciunas-Motiejunas-Kleiza front court will probably be the best front court in the whole tournament (except for maybe Dwight-Griffin-Durant (or LeBron) front court).

So you say "maybe" :rolleyes: Also what about probable front-cours like Splitter-Nene-Varejao, Pau-Marc-Ibaka, Noah-Turiaf-Diaw, Bogut-Andersen-Maric, Bouroussis-Sofo-Fotsis, Mozgov-Kaun-Kirilenko, damn even Horford-Villanueva-Martinez or some combination of Scola-Nocioni-Oberto.
C'mon man, let's cut that over optimistic view and let's be realistic. Currently only Kleiza is proved top player, who only in 2010 became a reliable leader. Others two still need long time to go to prove themselves as such. I hope before the 2016 Olympics we could brag by havin' probably the best frontcourt except for "maybe" USA, but now surely not

Straight forward

01-30-2012, 12:47 PM

So you say "maybe" :rolleyes: Also what about probable front-cours like Splitter-Nene-Varejao, Pau-Marc-Ibaka, Noah-Turiaf-Diaw, Bogut-Andersen-Maric, Bouroussis-Sofo-Fotsis, Mozgov-Kaun-Kirilenko, damn even Horford-Villanueva-Martinez or some combination of Scola-Nocioni-Oberto.
C'mon man, let's cut that over optimistic view and let's be realistic. Currently only Kleiza is proved top player, who only in 2010 became a reliable leader. Others two still need long time to go to prove themselves as such. I hope before the 2016 Olympics we could brag by havin' probably the best frontcourt except for "maybe" USA, but now surely not

No question, Mindozas. That's what I'm also thinking. Kleiza will be 30 in Olympics 2016, far from being old, more like being at his best if no injuries + matured Valančiūnas and Motiejūnas (and I think they have good chances to be more efficient players even than Kleiza). macleopard13 makes some sense saying that it could be the best frontline ever. As for now, there surely are better frontlines, but this trio should be interesting to watch already in 2012!

Hopefully Jonas Mačiulis is recovering also. Kleiza, Valančiūnas, Motiejūnas, Mačiulis, Pocius, Kalnieits - it's a question did we ever had that fast, mobile and athletic team? (I think only 1992, 2000 and 2004 teams are in competition). Great fit to Kemzura's inability to play half court offense.

macleopard13

01-30-2012, 10:19 PM

So you say "maybe" :rolleyes: Also what about probable front-cours like Splitter-Nene-Varejao, Pau-Marc-Ibaka, Noah-Turiaf-Diaw, Bogut-Andersen-Maric, Bouroussis-Sofo-Fotsis, Mozgov-Kaun-Kirilenko, damn even Horford-Villanueva-Martinez or some combination of Scola-Nocioni-Oberto.
C'mon man, let's cut that over optimistic view and let's be realistic. Currently only Kleiza is proved top player, who only in 2010 became a reliable leader. Others two still need long time to go to prove themselves as such. I hope before the 2016 Olympics we could brag by havin' probably the best frontcourt except for "maybe" USA, but now surely not

Splitter-Nene-Varejao? Can you tell me which one will start at the small forward? Pau-Marc-Ibaka is also incorrect, the correct lineup would be Pau, Ibaka and Fernandez. You got this all incorrect. What I meant was the strongest front-court lineup (meaning a strong starting lineup consisting of C-PF-SF).

Scola-Nocioni-Oberto? Argentines are getting old and no one's there to replace the veterans. If they'll rely on veterans again, young teams like USA, Greece and Lithuania will shut them down. So Scola-Nocioni-Oberto front-line is non-threatening. Kaun sucks in Euroleague (he has a tendency to foul too much in little playing time he gets), so I don't expect him to do well in the Olympics.

Lithuania should be able to get to the main Olympic tournament with Valanciunas-Motiejunas-Kleiza front-court. I know only 2 teams qualify, but our only opponents in that tournament are Russia, Greece and Macedonia. Other teams are garbage. I'm looking forward to Macedonia-Lithuania rematch. We better stop that cheater --- McCalebb and that sniper Ilievski :(. WE BETTER...

auris1

02-04-2012, 08:30 PM

Not sure what he is doing in there,in poland .he is bigger than that.i said before that he should move the team.better for him,better for us

Straight forward

02-04-2012, 10:04 PM

Not sure what he is doing in there,in poland .he is bigger than that.i said before that he should move the team.better for him,better for us

On other hand, Lithuanian coach, plenty of playing time, short season - coming fresh to NT camp.

macleopard13

02-11-2012, 02:10 AM

On other hand, Lithuanian coach, plenty of playing time, short season - coming fresh to NT camp.

Yep. But he might already be moving to Turkey, so he'll be more challenged. His minutes will probably be cut once Gonlum returns :(.

Straight forward

02-11-2012, 12:44 PM

Yep. But he might already be moving to Turkey, so he'll be more challenged. His minutes will probably be cut once Gonlum returns :(.

New info, or the same old rumours? I hope we'll see him with Prokom against Rytas this Monday.

Straight forward

03-05-2012, 12:32 AM

Rockets staff analysing Motiejunas progression:

http://www.nba.com/video/teams/rockets/2012/02/22/GERSSONONDMO512Kcopymov-2012075/index.html

Straight forward

03-17-2012, 09:53 PM

Interview with Motiejunas. IMO, the most interesting part:

"B. P.: You're young but already experienced. How do you see Polish league level is it good for your career to play here?

D. M.: Not everyone understands what kind of level is Polish league and I can tell you that it's higher than in Lithuania. It's great to play in front of the full stands.The teams are really strong, the league is really competitive. I talked with Polish players before the league started and they told me that every team that we will take on will come at us with 120% of what they've got."

http://www.asseco.prokom.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1404%3Adonatas-motiejunas-przychodcie-i-wspierajcie-nas&catid=11%3Aaktualnosci&Itemid=54&lang=en

auris1

03-20-2012, 07:49 PM

I feel, for one moment,that Pacesas bailed out on him by resigning .
And by all means,i do not care about pacesas.

macleopard13

04-15-2012, 11:22 PM

Straight forward

04-16-2012, 12:34 AM

I'm glad to see Motiejunas improving. He's upped his rebounding rate and improved his defense a little bit. My only concern is his free throws. He dominated against Trefl Sopot - 26 pts, 13 rebs, 2 stls, 3 blks and 7 fouls drawn, but he was 10/20 from free throw line. If he'd improve his FT shooting, he'd dominate even more. But I can't wait to see this guy in Lithuanian NT training camp. We'll have two young dominant rebounders :).

He's having 5 (of 9) over 20 points games in Polish league :cool:

However the concern is not only his FT but FG as well. Even 50% accuracy from 2 doesn't look that well when he attempts 16 and if he misses his threes it doesn't look good. That's the area where he should be improving in offense - polishing his post up game, taking advantage of his hight and avoiding high risk shots.

And it's nice to see 3 blocks as well. He matured and improved a lot this season. I don't expect anything else except a deserved spot in Olympic NT this summer. His role is another question, but in the best scenario I can see him as one of the main contributors. Let's not forget that it's not only Jonas playing with horrible guards, it's the same with Motiejunas. Maybe he could be even better in NT where the ball distribution and whole BB IQ is on other level.

Straight forward

04-26-2012, 02:55 PM

Nice reflection on what Motiejunas is right now. He does pretty much everyhing in offence. Looking forward to see how he does against world class power forwards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA8ArpXgSSk

auris1

05-25-2012, 10:30 PM

I know I over posted tonight ,but this is the last issue I have.
So Donatas doesn't have a contract yet with rockets,and there is no way he can get insurance till he signs .
Yet Kemzura says it would be unfair for him to join national squad after preliminary tournament.
Because it is unfair to other players.
No fucking way.
It would be unfair to our nation if he did not join the team.
Kemzura was talking before that there might be 2 teams - one for qualifiers ,another for Olympics .
No way he should refuse Donatas.
Just no way
I just can not justify this.
How can you void a player,who wants to play for our nt team,but probably would not be able till his contract is sorted,instead of someone who is on the team but being number 12 ,sitting on the bench all the time,having 0 minutes anyway.
That's unfair to a whole nation,not just one player.
And I reckon he would and could be our 7-8 player.

macleopard13

06-08-2012, 01:46 AM

Donatas finished his season w/ Poland. Now we're waiting for Kemzura to call him. Hopefully his answer will be affirmative :).

Mindozas

06-08-2012, 11:23 AM

Donatas finished his season w/ Poland. Now we're waiting for Kemzura to call him. Hopefully his answer will be affirmative :).

And what Kemzura should hear from him? "Hmm, oooh, uuuh, I don't know? I should ask my father". F*ck him. Federation did everything for him to play withcontract insurence in worst case scenario, but the superstar and his father has own doubts, he is not asking the question "what he can do for NT", but "what NT can do for him" and of course - nothing - he is already in NBA, so f*ck it. Valanciunas didn't act like some silly superstar even he will have bigger contract and accepted invite without all that drama + he might be our only decent enough C, as Javtokas has quite serious health problems for now and might not even play in tournament if all goes wrong. While who will be Motiejunas? bench warmer. Seriously, f*ck him. With such attitude he isn't needed at all and I won't miss him

Dreamcatcher

06-08-2012, 12:30 PM

Well, people are different. I don't know what i would do in his case. Maybe i would do only NBA thing, maybe not...I wasn't impressed by Donatas's game a lot, but i wish him good luck doing in USA, not looking at all crap which can happen between him and NT thing.

Straight forward

06-08-2012, 01:13 PM

Well, people are different.

Very good point. Personally I also not impressed with Motiejunas being "daddy's boy", but it's his style. All career his father was the one who helps him to make decisions. Motiejunas said that he will decide about NT after the season and media now just rolling that everywhere and such as Mindozas are getting pissed :) Motiejunas didn't do a single thing wrong. And all that bullshit about superstar...Let's just make a "anti- superstars" test and all who fails to go through should be kicked out. We are Lithuanians, people from woods, we should be all equal and the same :) Not to mention that Motiejūnas is humble little dog compared to our national hero Jasikevičius or the same Sabonis who is trashing every single reporter every single time :p

Seriously, that bullshit about Motiejunas' charakter is becominh trivial. He's a good baller and that's what counts - that's what this forum is about.

Personally, I'm not blaming him if he's not coming. Kemzura won't as well.

Mindozas

06-08-2012, 02:44 PM

Straight forward

06-08-2012, 06:13 PM

SF, did someone hack your account or you just started to celebrate weekend already or you seriously think so? I hope the first 2, cause your post sounds sooo madmax'ish and biased, cause I simply has no words for response... Sabas, Saras comparisons, humble Motiejunas...jeez :rolleyes:

No offense, but you constantly blame Motiejūnas because of different reasons barely connected with basketball. That's what I call bias to say the least because it seems more like a hatred too often.

I want to protect Motiejunas a little bit because of obvious reasons:

- His position isn't that clear. He has no guarantee for the future contract of Rockets contrary to Valančiūnas (Rockets kinda still wondering if DM is ready for the NBA). Also he felt like he wanted to clear things out about insurance and all situation (obviously advised by his agent) so no surprise he said I'm not yet commited to the NT.
- He kinda making the biggest transition of his career this summer and the Prokom's season finished late. Was it really so much of surprise that the guy is thinking about personal issues first instead of commiting to the NT in any cost? Specially having in mind that Kemzūra didn't show too much interest in him last few years.
- Basketball is business these days. Let's just face it. No need to be suprised or pissed.

To put it short, it's just a normal situation. The guy finished the season, will look up at the situation and will decide. Where's the damn fire? :) So the guys is more of a rational, utilitarian type instead of a heroic patriot type? Big deal! Is it a bit of surprise these days? No need to call him cocky, superstar, prima donna.

Personally, I see him as good NT material and I hope he'll be in the NT. If not - it's a loss, but not a tragedy. But I really don't see a point for hatred here.

auris1

06-08-2012, 07:55 PM

No offense, but you constantly blame Motiejūnas because of different reasons barely connected with basketball. That's what I call bias to say the least because it seems more like a hatred too often.

I want to protect Motiejunas a little bit because of obvious reasons:

- His position isn't that clear. He has no guarantee for the future contract of Rockets contrary to Valančiūnas (Rockets kinda still wondering if DM is ready for the NBA). Also he felt like he wanted to clear things out about insurance and all situation (obviously advised by his agent) so no surprise he said I'm not yet commited to the NT.
- He kinda making the biggest transition of his career this summer and the Prokom's season finished late. Was it really so much of surprise that the guy is thinking about personal issues first instead of commiting to the NT in any cost? Specially having in mind that Kemzūra didn't show too much interest in him last few years.
- Basketball is business these days. Let's just face it. No need to be suprised or pissed.

To put it short, it's just a normal situation. The guy finished the season, will look up at the situation and will decide. Where's the damn fire? :) So the guys is more of a rational, utilitarian type instead of a heroic patriot type? Big deal! Is it a bit of surprise these days? No need to call him cocky, superstar, prima donna.

Personally, I see him as good NT material and I hope he'll be in the NT. If not - it's a loss, but not a tragedy. But I really don't see a point for hatred here.
Well,I was kind of hoping you had started your weekend early( why not),nevertheless ,I am 100 percent behind you.
All I know is this- he had just finiished his long season few days ago.
There was no official statement from him or his father or his agent.
All there was just some bullshit to be honest from sources not to be trusted ,and people's ,like Sabas, who is in official position now, reactions.
Not cool.
Nobody gave a fuck last summer when he was ready to play for nt and refused.
And what is this - insurance already paid for his contract,although he never agreed to play in the summer in the first place.?

And by the way,Valanciunas was treated like semi god in the press and even in this forum for the last couple of years,yet Donatas was kind of idiot third brother type.He deserves more

Mindozas

06-09-2012, 10:19 AM

No offense, but you constantly blame Motiejūnas because of different reasons barely connected with basketball. That's what I call bias to say the least because it seems more like a hatred too often.

I want to protect Motiejunas a little bit because of obvious reasons:

- His position isn't that clear. He has no guarantee for the future contract of Rockets contrary to Valančiūnas (Rockets kinda still wondering if DM is ready for the NBA). Also he felt like he wanted to clear things out about insurance and all situation (obviously advised by his agent) so no surprise he said I'm not yet commited to the NT.
- He kinda making the biggest transition of his career this summer and the Prokom's season finished late. Was it really so much of surprise that the guy is thinking about personal issues first instead of commiting to the NT in any cost? Specially having in mind that Kemzūra didn't show too much interest in him last few years.
- Basketball is business these days. Let's just face it. No need to be suprised or pissed.

To put it short, it's just a normal situation. The guy finished the season, will look up at the situation and will decide. Where's the damn fire? :) So the guys is more of a rational, utilitarian type instead of a heroic patriot type? Big deal! Is it a bit of surprise these days? No need to call him cocky, superstar, prima donna.

Personally, I see him as good NT material and I hope he'll be in the NT. If not - it's a loss, but not a tragedy. But I really don't see a point for hatred here.

Sorry, but here you seriously sound like some crazy teen fan of Justin Bieber. You see only what you want to see, while everyone who says some negative things are haters. I don't really know what is needed for you to open your eyes a bit and to see the real "colours" of Motiejunas. If our media writes bullshit, now the latest interview from US media also isn;t enough for you to believe what is his attitude towards NT and what kind of values/priorities he has in his career or life generally? I really can't udnerstand how people can defend such person... bball skills has nothing to do here, cause bball is not only skills and 1on1 game... there're more to it, which can make the TEAM succesfull, even it might have less talent

Straight forward

06-09-2012, 10:52 AM

Sorry, but here you seriously sound like some crazy teen fan of Justin Bieber. You see only what you want to see, while everyone who says some negative things are haters. I don't really know what is needed for you to open your eyes a bit and to see the real "colours" of Motiejunas. If our media writes bullshit, now the latest interview from US media also isn;t enough for you to believe what is his attitude towards NT and what kind of values/priorities he has in his career or life generally? I really can't udnerstand how people can defend such person... bball skills has nothing to do here, cause bball is not only skills and 1on1 game... there're more to it, which can make the TEAM succesfull, even it might have less talent

No, I prefer I little bit different style of music :) Let's just say we have different approach to Motiejūnas. What one calls arrogance or selfishness, other might call determination. I feel like it's a real need not to come to early, pre-fact conclusions. I believe there might be a lot misinterpretation in the story. Even that line-up doesn't say he openly demanding something. He might mean - his aim and not a demand is not to sit on the bench. Things should be clear first.

And to be honest, one of the main Lithuanian basketball webs making harsh interpretations though it's literally interpretation. Such headlines might have some real effect. At least it doesn't help NT in any way. That's a clear manipulation. I wonder if they really making such a good money out of this because it seems they don't give a f... about NT.

Mindozas

06-09-2012, 11:59 AM

No, I prefer I little bit different style of music :) Let's just say we have different approach to Motiejūnas. What one calls arrogance or selfishness, other might call determination. I feel like it's a real need not to come to early, pre-fact conclusions. I believe there might be a lot misinterpretation in the story. Even that line-up doesn't say he openly demanding something. He might mean - his aim and not a demand is not to sit on the bench. Things should be clear first.

With one thing I agree - it's obvious that our approach is different :) An you know, there's a thin line between self-confidence and cockiness/arrogance. Motiejunas steppin' over it too often - that's all. I just don't like such persons in life generally, who talks and asks for smth he didn't earn, even theoretically he might do that. First prove smth - then demand. And my opinion comes not from our media. I was talking this way about Motiejunas for a few years already - that he is complicated personality and isn't liked by his teammates cause of that. Since last year I sincerely changed my opinion regarding him, cause during camps it looked like he matured, but now everything goes down again... I don't know what he expects while talking like that, but he surely won't find understanding and condolences this way. I could understand his actions for a bit, if he just silently would say that he can't play cause of contract, but he'd be able to play in Olympics if needed, but all these demands for a sure place, now for a secured playin' time and etc. It doesn't look serious at all.

And to be honest, one of the main Lithuanian basketball webs making harsh interpretations though it's literally interpretation. Such headlines might have some real effect. At least it doesn't help NT in any way. That's a clear manipulation. I wonder if they really making such a good money out of this because it seems they don't give a f... about NT.

If our bball is world class, our media sucks badly - that's true, our bball sites are amateurish, most of them are run by biased fans from both sides (Zalgiris/Rytas) or are influenced by emotions, but this time they're right - in USA media I read the same words of Motiejunas where he stricktly says that he sees no point to play in NT if we won't be guaranteed for playin' time before comin' to it... I mean wtf... My natural reaction is - he might go to hell (NBA or anywhere). Slovenia kicked Vujacic outta squad cause of such behaviour, there were more cases life that in history of bball - and teams did just fine. I sincerely don't want players with such attitude in NT

Straight forward

06-09-2012, 12:25 PM

National team or camp

Motiejunas, 21, seemed to be leaning toward the same goal. He has not yet made his decision about playing for Lithuania’s national team, which will begin training this month in Houston for July’s Olympic qualifying tournament. But unless assured a significant role on that team, he indicated he’d rather begin his NBA career with the Rockets.

“We will talk with the coaches and everyone,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out how everything is going to be with the national team.
“If we don’t figure it out, then, yes, I will go to the summer league. To play on the national team is a great honor for every basketball player. But my goal is to play; I don’t want to be just some other guy who sits on the bench.”

http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/06/donatas-motiejunas-brings-title%E2%80%A8more-moxie-to-the-mix/

OK, we have one source - Ultimate Rockets - and the line doesn't look good at all. If this all is literally true and Motiejunas will say "I want 20 minutes in the NT" or something like that, he's shutting down his NT career at least till Kemzura in charge if not longer.

However, it was a telephone interview the day after Polish finals. Knowing Motiejunas style of interviews it could be some misundertanding with that "significant role". Maybe Motiejūnas meant that he wants to know if Kemzura really see him in the roster this summer (even that off course would be a little bit strange, but relatively understandable). But untill Kemzūra or Balčiūnas won't clear situation out, I would be more patient with conclusions. The situation doesn't look good however.