Dream Fit: Wizards, Nuggets, Bulls

Overall Grade: 68.78

Projected Position: PG/SG

Strengths:

• Good space maintaining & bend off screens and through traffic

• Elite rebounding guard: great crashes using hesis from behind to get around boxouts, great rebounding tracking and securing

• Comfortable in his offplatform stepbacks & fading midrange & 3pt game

• Solid recovery off screens with good speed and extension on contests

• Solid physicality with bigs

• Good pass accuracy from weird angles, able to get ball to pops & rolls in tight windows

• Good speed and physicality maintain when defending orbit movements

• Good speed off screens to get into big iso scenarios

• Good control & body adjustments to split traffic around the rim

• Ambidextrous passing ability

• Quick pick & roll decisions with great navigation

• Good body controtion to help sell fouls

• Great driving vision

• Good focus through contact on drives & strength getting shots up

Weaknesses:

• Lax ball security waiting for offensive developments on the perimeter

• Reliant on off platform midrange & 3pt shots instead of stationary shots lowering his efficiency

• Can force passouts leading to turnovers especially when commited in the air or trapped

• Exposes the ball too much on handle & not the most proficient in dealing with press

• Tries to sell push offs as fouls when defenders drives too often

• Needs work on perimeter space creation

• Turnover issues

• Not enough speed with lateral mobility to keep up with quicker guards

• Not consistent physicality on paints and rives, but ok bumps

• Poor sudden change of direction on defense, unable to recover against quicker players

• Limited capabilities as an offball player

OFF

• really tight handle

• smooth shooting form

• quick change of direction

• big guard, 6’6

• great passer, super quick decision maker

• makes great decisions

• finds passing angles really well

• attacks closeouts well

• misses elite passing reads

• great and aware off ball cutter and mover

• not the best burst, cant get separation on players well

• draws a crazy amount of fouls, fouls baits well

• pass first guard who seeks to get the best looks possible

• offense is drastically better when hes in the game

DEF

• slow laterally

• decently long arms

• good footwork

• can get torched by quicker guards

• stays up too high

• incredinle positional rebounder

OVERALL

• MY FIRST “MY GUY” OF THIS DRAFT CYCLE

• Love Jakucionis’ passing and shooting, he’s also a triple double guy which is great since I love Russell Westbrook (200 triple doubles)

• Best passer in the draft, great shooter as well. He’s so dynamic going downhill in his finishing and quick decision making in his passing

• If only he had a quicker first step, he’d be top 5 but that’s what worries me. His BBIQ is off the charts so it might not be a huge thing but it stops him from being a superstar

• Wish his defense was better as well, he’s definitely below position average

• His positional size gives him a huge advantage in passing and rebounding however

• I feel decently confident that Kasparas will at least be a starter in the NBA for many years, and that warrants top 10 in any class, plus he has the upside to be a game changer for the team that drafts him

Scouting Report: Kasparas Jakucionis

Position: Guard (Point Guard / Shooting Guard)
Height/Weight: 6'6", 200 lbs
School: Illinois Fighting Illini (Freshman, Class of 2025)
Draft Projection: Late first-round to early second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Overview:
Kasparas Jakucionis is a Lithuanian guard with a well-rounded skill set and a high basketball IQ. Having honed his craft in Europe with FC Barcelona's youth system, Jakucionis brings a polished game and valuable international experience to the college level. His ability to contribute as both a scorer and playmaker makes him a versatile prospect.

Strengths:

• Shooting Touch: Jakucionis has a smooth shooting stroke, excelling in catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble.

• Playmaking Ability: He demonstrates excellent court vision and passing skills, making him a reliable facilitator in the backcourt.

• Basketball IQ: His understanding of the game allows him to make smart decisions and adapt to different defensive schemes.

• International Experience: Competing at a high level in Europe has prepared him for the physicality and pace of college basketball.

• Defensive Potential: With his size and length, Jakucionis has the tools to be an effective perimeter defender.

Areas for Improvement:

• Athleticism: While skilled, he lacks elite explosiveness, which could limit his ability to create separation against quicker defenders.

• Consistency: Maintaining a high level of performance throughout games and seasons will be key to his development.

• Strength: Adding muscle to his frame will help him handle physicality at the next level.

Player Comparisons:

• Tomas Satoransky

• Ricky Rubio

Summary:
Kasparas Jakucionis is a skilled and intelligent guard with the potential to carve out a role in the NBA. His combination of shooting, playmaking, and international experience makes him an intriguing prospect. With continued development, he could become a valuable contributor at the professional level.

Let me know if you'd like to explore more about his college career or future potential! 😊

Draft Range: 5-16

Projected NBA rookie role:

Projected NBA position: Lead Guard

Projected Rookie Statline (Pts, Reb, Ast, Blk/Stl):

Strengths: 3 level scorer with lead guard instincts, gradual progression throughout the season

Weakness: Iffy defender who struggles against faster opponents.

Shades of/comp:

Best outcome:

mid outcome:

worst outcome:

Kaspras seems like the type of player who can fit into any system, he's a very good all around player to suit any teams guard. Averaging 16 6 and 6 across the season so far, he seems like a potential Triple Double beast if he can work on his playmaking and aggressiveness to get boards.

He needs to work on his defense if he wants to be considered as a top prospect in this year's great draft class.

Rating: B

Jakucionis, or Jaku for short (me being lazy), is a talented point guard who can make an immediate impact for a lot of NBA teams. At 6'6", he's a tremendous passer and dribbler who plays smoothly and under control. He turns the ball over a lot, but his obvious upside as a creator makes you not worry too much about it. At the end of the day, he will have to be a plus shooter at the NBA level for him to carve out a consistent role with any team. Jaku shot 33% from deep on about 5 attempts a night, which are numbers that he will have to improve. He can shoot off the catch and off the dribble and he is proficient at navigating pick and rolls to get to his spots. He's not great from midrange but is great at attacking the rim and draws fouls and finishes in the paint really well, using his size to his advantage. He doesn't have elite athleticism but definitely has enough burst to beat guys off the dribble. His defense has potential to be very good, as Jaku is 6'6 and has solid strength. However, its not quite at the point where he can lock up guys day in and day out. All in all, Jakucionis will be a high draft pick and has lots of landing spots where his game can develop.

NBA Comps: Goran Dragic, Brandin Podziemski, Spencer Dinwiddie