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Possibly the biggest enigma of this draft, Andriuskevicius is a kid that few have actually seen quality minutes of, but many like to rank and talk about. Thanks to our contacts in Lithuania and other parts of Europe, we've managed to put together a decent chunk of this athletic, 7-3 teenager's minutes on tape over the past season. The results were pretty disappointing for me to watch personally, especially considering how highly most people in the States think of him. And while there is no doubt that this kid has awesome physical attributes and potential, he does very little to actually bring that out on the court right now.
First the good. In terms of height, he is absolutely huge, with a pair of arms that just refuse to end. He appears to have good hands as well. Martynas is indeed extremely athletic just as he is billed, 7 feet plus or not, the kid can move. He has excellent footspeed and is very quick to get up and down the court and move in all directions. He also can get off the floor very nicely to block shots thanks to a good vertical leap. To call him mobile would be an understatement. Offensively, he has a very nice stroke from outside, with range out to (and probably beyond) the European 3 point line. He can put the ball on the floor quickly and take almost anyone who tries to guard him on the perimeter off the dribble, being able to handle the ball with either his left or right hand equally well.
Now the bad, which unfortunately there is plenty of at this early stage of his career. Martynas looks physically and mentally overwhelmed every time he steps out on the court against players that are older than him (which at this point is basically everyone). The word skinny is thrown around a lot when it comes to European players, but with Martynas we are talking about something truly chronic. His frame is extremely frail, with narrow shoulders (almost like a young Keon Clark or Shawn Bradley, but with even less upper body strength) that leave you in serious doubt whether any type of weight lifting or nutritional program will help fix this in the next few years. He lacks the strength to do anything around the basket when he is being challenged, as even the slightest shove makes him completely lose his composure. 6-7 power forwards with a little bit of meat on their body toy and have their way with him with the greatest of ease at this point in his career.
Watching him play against decent competition is a little bit nerve racking. He looks like he is made out of glass sometimes, like even the most casual foul has the potential to shatter him into pieces. How this kid is going to manage to stay healthy while being pushed around every day in practice and in games in the NBA has to be a serious concern. He is a poor rebounder because of this lack of strength, but also because he does not even attempt to box out his man, as that would most likely be futile for him to even try.
Defensively, he can block some shots because of his size, wingspan and athletic ability, but he is also extremely foul prone; biting on pump fakes, using his hands too much, getting caught out of position on rotations, and lacking the footwork or lateral quickness to be able to stay in front of his man if he is taken out of the paint. This basically neutralizes any notion of him being able to guard power forwards in the NBA at 7-3, as he would be a huge liability defensively. I can't understand why one would want a long and athletic 7 footer anywhere else but in the paint altering shots anyway, but I guess that's just me.
On top of that, you have to wonder a little bit about his mental toughness as well. Beyond the fact that he floats to the perimeter way too much and doesn't appear to be the most contact loving big man in the world, it's not hard to see that he has a tough time dealing with the pressure of the Euroleague, whether it's at home or on the road. He looks very nervous and lost most of the time, missing free throw after free throw despite his excellent mechanics and shooting touch and getting very down on himself when things don't go his way. He just doesn't appear to be very comfortable in his own skin at this point, which is somewhat understandable considering that there just shouldn't be this much pressure on the kid at such a young age, it's just not natural. We can only imagine how much this problem will be magnified as a high pick in the NBA.
Watching him play, there was little doubt in my mind that he just isn't good enough at this point to get significant playing time in the Euroleague or maybe even the watered down Lithuanian league, especially considering the ambitions of his team (Zalgiris is and probably always will be the flag bearers of Lithuanian basketball). Martynas had a place (as small as it may have been) in his team's rotation for most of the year, but he is apparently not happy with the way he's being developed, and thinks he's ready to move on to the next level, before he's done anything at the one he's at right now. Instead of working hard to improve both physically and from a skills standpoint so he would be able to play a role for his team next year, he seems to be trying to take a shortcut and jump straight to the NBA. I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that this kid is two years away at the very least from being able to play any type of role in the NBA. It's obvious that he should stay in Europe for at least another season to mature physically and mentally, along with gaining experience through playing time in a friendly environment, but he still insists on going over there regardless.
Looking at the history of the NBA draft, how many European players have been drafted after averaging less than 5 points per game (and he averages 2) during their last season and have ever had any type of impact for their team over the course of their career? If Martynas decides to make the jump this year and comes straight over, he's going to have "bust" written in big letters all over his forehead. And that's a shame, because he truly is a wonderful talent. It's just not his time yet.
We decided to pull him off the mock draft a few weeks ago already, and since then everyone else appears to have followed suit. Contrary to published reports, though, he has not pulled his name out of this year's draft yet. He will most likely be in Chicago during pre-draft week and, according to Lithuanian sources, will be escorted to the States by legendary Lithuanian trainer Aleksandras Kosauskas, who works with the Lithuanian national team.
