Donatas Motiejunas, PF

Regarded by many as the elite prospect in the European ranks, the National Basketball Association might finally get to see him perform in the United States next season. The talented forward was expected to be a lottery pick in the 2010 draft, but on the last day to withdraw his entry, the Lithuanian decided to return to Europe for the 2010-11 campaign.

Most talent evaluators feel that Motiejunas still retains his lottery projection. If he was to be taken in the first part of the draft, he would be the first Lithuanian to be taken that early.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is presently the highest drafted Lithuanian, as the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Big Z as the 20th pick in the 1996 draft. Arvydas Sabonis was drafted 24th in the 1986 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and the same team chose Linas Kleiza as the 27th pick in 2005.

Some scouts feel that he is the most talented "big man" to come out of the European circuit since Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki in 1998. What impresses most teams is his versatility, as he has the body to develop into an NBA caliber center, but also shows the defensive skills to bang heads with power forwards, along with the lateral agility and overall quickness to defend vs. wings along the perimeter.

Motiejunas began his basketball career in 2005, playing with the youth team Arvydas Sabonis School of Kaunas. In 2006-07, he averaged 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 29 minutes of action per game. He was also a part of the Lithuanian Under-16, Under-18, and Under-20 junior national teams. With Lithuania's junior national teams, he played at the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, both the 2007 and 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Motiejunas led Lithuania's junior national team to the silver medal at the 2008 Under-18 Championship. Despite losing to Greece's junior national team in the gold medal game, he was named the MVP of the tournament, after averaging 18.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. At the 2009 Under-20 Championship, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

The talented forward made his professional debut in 2007-08 with the Zalgiris Kaunas in a Baltic League game vs. the ASK Riga, scoring 15 points in 22 minutes. He helped Zalgiris Kaunas win a Baltic Championship, a Lithuanian Championship and a Lithuanian Cup, as he averaged 5.6 points in 10.1 minutes per game in the Baltic League. He was named the 2008 Euroleague NJT MVP.

Prior to the 2008-09 season, Motiejunas signed with the Aisciai-Atletas. That year, he averaged 19.9 points and 7.0 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game for the club. His best performance came when he scored a season-high 29 points in a Lithuanian League game vs. Nevezis on March 22nd, 2009. He also showed impressive perimeter shooting skills, as he was successful on 44.4% of his three-point chances (20-of-45).

The forward also competed with the Lithuanian U-19 World Championship and U-20 European Championship teams during the 2008-09 campaign. Combined for the year, he averaged 16.41 points, 6.43 rebounds and 0.86 blocked shots per game. He hit on 237-of-466 field goals, making half of his 100 three-point attempts.

The following season, Motiejunas moved to the Italian League club Benetton Treviso in August 2009. There, he got off to a great start, scoring 18 and 21 points in two friendly matches vs. other European clubs. In 49 contests, he scored 440 points (8.98 ppg), as he also averaged 4.51 rebounds per game. He shot 53.6% from the field, making 162-of-302 field goals, including 17-of-43 from three-point range.

In Italian League and Eurocup competition, Motiejunas appeared in a total of 47 contests for Treviso during the 2010-11 schedule. He pumped in 560 points (11.91 ppg), as he made 197-of-401 field goals (49.1%), along with snatching 218 rebounds (4.64 rpg) to go with 23 blocked shots and 50 steals.

Positives: Despite his size, Motiejunas has excellent court speed … Combines that quickness with an 8'11" standing reach, 7'1" wingspan and 37-inch vertical jump to create tremendous mismatches vs. smaller wings forced to defend him on the perimeter (made 41.7% of his three-point attempts the last three years) … Has valid scoring instincts, as he excels at using his body to gain separation needed to create his own shot … One of those rare big men with a good handle on the ball, as he can dribble and shoot with either hand (dished out 136 assists in 133 games), as that long reach has also proven quite effective disrupting his opponent in the passing lane (recorded 143 steals) … Does a nice job of securing the outlet passes and will generally get the bigger defenders off-balance with his post moves, as he can spin, elevate and fire quickly with his mid-range and turn-around jumpers … Very effective shooting with his off-hand and shows good ball handling skills, along with the court vision to locate the open teammate with a nifty pass … Until his body develops and adds more bulk, he could be quite effective as a point forward, as he shows the valid skills to bring the ball up court and leaves bigger forwards behind when leading the fast break … Nearly impossible to defend when he sets up and fires from the perimeter, getting the ball away with excellent elevation … Takes advantage of his size to shield the ball from the defender and dish the sphere around on pick-&-pop plays … Very mobile, with the lateral quickness and long arms to get back and defend the basket … Knows how to use his frame and long limbs to generate a wide base and establish position in the low post … Versatility is one of his stronger suits, as he can play all three frontcourt positions and can score from either hand … Good post passer who is best when shooting around the basket, displaying a soft touch to convert short jumpers and hook shots … Has good quickness getting up and down the court and works hard to get position to make the rebound and then take the ball coast to coast … Does a good job of slashing past the defender on the baseline and does a nice job of putting the ball in when facing the basket … Runs the floor well and has good court vision, making proper decisions on when to pass or drive when facing double team action … Has that gliding stride that makes him very effective driving to the basket after hauling in the quick lob pass … Has the loose hips to move well without the ball and the large, natural hands to grab the ball fed to him in the post … Good rebounder, as he keeps his hands high and active, showing a quick move with his lean frame to slip under or over the opponent … Will generally score when he gets the offensive rebound … Has the natural feel to make the one-handed feed, especially when elevating off the floor and firing at the basket at the high point of his leap … Has the touch and feel to make the difficult angle shots … Shows a nice jump hook half-floater moves and with his wingspan, when he elevates, his shot is very tough to block … Shows very good touch to finish at the rim … Takes good angles to finish in and around the paint … Can knock down the jumper from the baseline or be creative coming off the dribble to make his own shot … Has the explosive step off the floor to finish bounce passes with a strong dunk … Conscious of timing his leaps to get up to the rim for the put-backs and works well with his guards in running the floor smoothly in transition … Has the natural hands to catch the alley-oop passes and when he elevates, he shows a nice fingertip tip role shifting the ball to his left hand for the score … Can sail over the smaller opponents when running down court for the easy layups.

Negatives: Seems to be a point forward/two-guard type trapped in a four-forward's body … Has marginal defensive awareness and even though he will angle and slip under defenders to get to the rebound, he does not have the strength to prevent NBA type forwards from constantly pushing him out of the paint … Must develop better aggression, as he will back down from confrontations when forced to work under the rim … Is much more comfortable creating his own shot and will get too fancy with his passes at times … Needs to stop being so individualistic and look to play within the team concept better (pouted when he was not used as the go-to scoring option at Treviso last year) … Better on the offensive boards, where he has a good angling concept for put-backs, but is not the type that will consistently crash the defensive glass … Seems reluctant to test his skills in the NBA and has told teams looking to draft him that he might stay in Europe unless he is taken with a lottery pick … Questions need to be answered about a potentially large buyout clause in his contract … Gets backed in the post too often, leading some to question his courage working inside.

Compares To: ANDREA BARGNANI, Toronto -- Like Bargnani, Motiejunas is more likely to play as a combo forward, lacking a strong post game. He is still a bit weak for a player his size and seems to be more concerned about getting the ball in his hands than giving any sort of effort on the defensive side. His scoring touch is reminiscent to Tony Kukoc, as he can really create mismatches with his ability to fire the ball from the perimeter. After flirting with the NBA prior to the 2010 draft, if he remains in the draft pool this year, he is most likely to be the first international player taken.

--Dave-Te' Thomas

Motiejunas appeared in a total of 47 games for Benetton Treviso - 18 in Eurocup action and 29 in the Italian League … Combined to score 560 points (11.91 ppg), as he connected on 197-of-401 field goals (49.1%), including 21-of-68 treys (30.9%) … Made 145-of-209 free throws (69.4%), as he delivered 45 assists (0.96 apg) with 23 blocked shots and 50 steals (1.06 spg) … Collected 218 rebounds (4.64 rpg) … Scored in double figures 30 times and hyad at least seven rebounds on ten occasions.

Competed for Benetton Treviso Basket (Italy) … In 47 games, Motiejunas scored 440 points (8.98 ppg) on 162-of-302 field goals (53.6%), including 17-of-43 from three-point range (39.5%) and hit on 99-of-151 free throws (65.6%) … Registered 221 rebounds (4.51 rpg), 29 assists (0.6 apg), 58 steals (1.2 spg) and blocked 23 shots … Was also charged with a career-high 89 personal fouls.

Played in 22 games for Aisciai-Atletas Kaunas, Lithuania, logging 645 minutes of action, as he scored 438 points (19.9 ppg), connecting on 50.8% from two-point range (132-of-260) and 44.4% of his treys (20-of-45) … Put in 114-of-151 free throws (75.5%) and came up with 154 rebounds (7.0 rpg) … Totaled 31 assists, 23 steals and 17 blocked shots … Also played in six games with the Lithuanian U-10 World Championships team, averaging 17.33 points and 8.0 rebounds … In nine games for the Lituanian U-20 European Championships team, he scored 65 points (7.2 ppg) and snared 36 rebounds.

Competing for the Lithuanian U-19 World Championship and U-20 European Champion-ship teams, in addition to seeing action with Benetton Treviso in the Eurocup, Euroleague and Italian League, Motiejunas appeared in 133 games during the last three seasons …

Combined, he scored 1,607 points (12.08 ppg), making 596-of-1,169 field goal attempts (51.0%) and 88-of-211 from three-point range (41.7%) … Connected on 69.2% of his free throws (389-of-562) … Collected 677 rebounds (5.09 rpg), as he dished out 136 assists (1.02 apg), had 143 steals (1.08 spg) and blocked 65 shots (0.5 bpg).

JUNIOR BASKETBALL

Prior to his professional career, played for Arvydas Sabonis School of Kaunas … In 2006-07, he averaged 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 29 minutes of action per game … Part of the Lithuanian Under-16, Under-18, and Under-20 junior national teams … With Lithuania's junior national teams, he played at the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, both the 2007 and 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships, the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship … Led Lithuania's junior national team to the silver medal at the 2008 Under-18 Championship … Despite losing to Greece's junior national team in the gold medal game, he was named the MVP of the tournament, after averaging 18.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game … At the 2009 Under-20 Championship, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Born 9/20/90 … Resides in Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas, Lithuania