Rokas Jokubaitis

Profile:

Position: Point Guard

Role: Playmaking Shot Creator

Age: 20

Nation: Lithuania

League: LKL/Euroleague

Team: Žalgiris

Height: 6’4

Wingspan: N/A

Weight: 194

Stats:

[embed]Rokas Jokubaitis International Stats | Basketball-Reference.com Rokas Jokubaitis - Career stats, game logs, leaderboard appearances, awards, and achievements for international club…www.basketball-reference.com

Positives:

• Excellent shooter off the catch. He has consistent mechanics and no dip in his form. He has knocked down catch-and-shoot 3s at a very good clip during his playing career in Europe and projects as an able spot-up shooter at an NBA level.
• Knockdown mid-range shooter. He can create separation in the mid-range due to his craftiness. He is especially fond of using hesitations to freeze defenders. He has his spots on the court that he gets to and is incredibly comfortable pulling up into his jumper.
• Crafty handler. He doesn’t have a lot of burst but he makes up for it with fakes, changes of pace, and spins. He can reliably create the space he needs to get his shot off and does a solid job of getting to the basket.
• Decent finisher. He weaves his way through the defense to get to the basket where he can score fairly well. He makes some crafty finishes with his length.
• Creative playmaker. He is very good at creating opportunities for others, especially out of the pick and roll. He makes some high-level reads and can accurately hit cutters and rollers, as well as spot-up shooters. He is a talented passer who is fond of making two-handed ski passes and is incredibly good at making one-handed passes on the fly.

Negatives:

• Not very athletic. He doesn’t have great burst and subsequently has a poor first step. He is not an above-the-rim athlete and won’t be rising up for explosive finishes. He also is not particularly quick laterally.
• Not the best 3-point shooter off the dribble. His pull-up jumper range doesn’t comfortably extend beyond the arc. He often opts for deep 2s over creating shots outside the 3-point line.
• Doesn’t project to be a good defender. He puts in the effort but his lack of athleticism and strength will see him struggle against NBA-level athletes. He also dies on screens too easily.

Upside:

• Goran Dragic
• Tomas Satoransky
• Ricky Rubio

Notes:

From Tony Parker to Goran Dragic, crafty European guards have been coming over to the NBA and finding success for ages. Rokas Jokubaitis isn’t the same caliber of player as those two but he is talented nonetheless and has a lot of interesting skills for a combo guard. He spots up incredibly well from both beyond the arc and the mid-range and converts at an efficient clip. He is lethal with his mid-range pull-up jumper. He makes creative reads and some truly beautiful passes.

Jokubaitis’s biggest weakness is his lack of athleticism. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness needed to be a feisty guard defender and on the offensive end, he isn’t blowing by anyone off of speed alone. Craftiness will be key for him in navigating a league full of superhuman athletes. If he can figure out how to overcome his shortcomings, Jokubaitis has the potential to become a very nice rotation guard.