Lukasz Kolenda

Lukasz Kolenda was tempted by a leadership role to stay in Trefl Sopot and fullfill last year of contract obligation despite interest from German league but in fact he is still combining minutes on both backcourt positions as team signed American rookie PG. Also there are some more experienced players in the roster and it’s hard to expect from lefty playmaker to provide winning consistently (his end of the game performances doesn’t help to label him as a pure playmaker). League is worse, he is older, he knows the system perfectly, you can see his even more bulked frame, he will surely be impactful in 20/21 but more than anything in order to make a jump he simply needs environment change next year. That is the move that can verify his upside eventually. Either Polish cup team or something like Trefl but abroad in better league. Meanwhile his older brother who gets way less attention is emerging as interesting 3 and D guy which given simplicity of the role may allow him to get opportunity somewhere else quicker than Lukasz.

POLAND’S FINEST

Polish guard Lukasz Kolenda has been somewhat one man army during the tournament in Tel Aviv. He arrived in a bit worse shape than last season during U20s of Division B where he possibly played the best basketball of his life so far but had a notable takeover moments when he looked like a fringe late 2nd round pick. Especially memorable performance happened during the game vs Slovenia as he led Poland to unexpected win and Dragic esque comparison came from opposite staff after that showing. 

Statistical breakdown is unfortunately highly disappointing. Lukasz had clearly negative A/To ratio which can be explained a little by low quality of the roster and lack of experience of his teammates who simply didn’t get where to be / how to act in certain moments and were as responsible for losing the ball as a passer in given situation. But to some degree he is still not great controlling the pace and looks herky jerky at times. It is understandable as he never really had a chance to learn from high level PG except short senior NT camps with Lukasz Koszarek. Besides running the point, he also often plays as SG in his team next to typical American scoring guard or even rookie PG like last year. It can be big for his career if he is the playmaker you can trust in crunchtime on high level to deliver the ball, control the tempo and avoid the mistake. Kolenda was also hitting big time shooting slumps with his low and streaky release and is not projected at all to become above average 3pt executor. From positive things he went more times to the right side and proved his scoring ability by penetrating almost any defense at will as PnR ball handler and drawing fouls consistently against opponents specialized in guarding go to offensive options. 

There are still areas where he needs to step up but lefty flashy PGs who dish the ball, make plays in traffic like him with that size, energy and physicality are hard to find. Buyout for euro teams is not small but with strong 19/20 season someone may be tempted to seriously consider using that option. 

QUICK INTRO

Lukasz Kolenda is a point guard atypically talented for a Polish backcourt player and atypically well known in scouting worldwide community for Polish backcourt player thanks to that. Following his successful showing at FIBA U20 European Division B Championship where he won the MVP and led his country to the promotion he even appeared on ESPN mock on the beginning of the season. He also already possess experience with senior NT under coach Mike Taylor and few weeks ago he decided to put his name in NBA Draft as early entrant.

SITUATION

Since two years Kolenda is a fully fledged member of Trefl Sopot rotation. Team is self proclaimed “heart of the Sopot” and there is absolutely no doubt who is being prepared to be the center piece of that organisation for years to come. Currently Trefl is coming off whirlwind season as they fell short with their playoffs aspirations and were fighting relegation until the very last game. During that stretch Lukasz witnessed many players come and go, had three head coaches but each of them saw obvious potential and readiness in him to let him play a big role. Some could state he was in big degree responsible for few upsets but there is a will to give him an opportunity to learn through mistakes in order to get better which is super rare on pro level.

18/19 LIVE SCOUTING

I was scouting Lukasz in fact before I even became a scout. I watched him extensively last three and a half years in various competitions but somehow this season I attended only one game live, against Stelmet Zielona Gora which reminded me about one anecdote from my basketball life.

I remember my conversation with one Turkish League coach during 2017 Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul. We were talking about many players and at some point he asked me who is the best point guard of our league. I answered: “James Florence can really score on our level but as far as true playmakers It’s still Lukasz Koszarek”. His response? “Oh my god, it must be weak competition”. I was like: “Yeah it is but guy is really underrated”. Two years later conversation could pretty much look the same. Koszarek is definition of “no unnecessary movement” style. He can school younger or less experienced players with his savviness and get buckets or dimes while literally walking down the court.

That day Lukasz Kolenda became a victim of that. He quickly collected few fouls on veteran PG and had no rhythm in the game. It resulted in making few bad decisions and besides two pull up threes during comeback in 2nd half it was (also self proclaimed) the worst game of the season by rising star of Polish hoops. The generational change needs to wait at least one more season….

TURNING THE CORNER

Baby faced, very polite off the court but don’t let this image fool you if you play against him. Lukasz can be a killer in pick & roll and undoubtedly his main offensive production comes from those situations.

While he may lack elite burst to blow people by from standstill position in isolation, or advanced dribble to create the space with shake & bake, he can really turn the corner in two man game. He is solidly built and uses off hand perfectly (a little bit of Dragic style) to slightly push the defender away, get rid off on the ball pressure and navigate his man on the screen better. Lukasz has a knack for snake dribbles and prefers attacking to the right side from high top PnR and then immediately reverses it to his stronger left hand. He is (sometimes overly) confident while getting to the hoop, his strides are quite long and he withstands the contact decently (adequate +15% of drives ends up on the FT line). He potentially can stop & pop for mid range pull up or fire it up from behind the arc if defender wasn’t honest but is still not there in terms of efficiency. He tries at times pocket moves or puts defender in the jail with little success but becoming more creative or polished finisher around the rim and developing floater + even better change of pace can definitely help him moving forward to master pick & roll game. As well as improving decision making on the fly (nearly 20% of TO rate, kills the dribble at times too soon). To sum up: has all the makings but still can’t be called adept or virtuoso.  

OTHER CRUCIAL SCOUTING ASPECTS

*Passing

Still underrated asset. Good in every setting whether it’s PnR, open court, drive and kick, stationary or quick extra dime and moreover has a flair to throw it out of the box. While accuracy still leaves something to be desired in his right, left handed assists are super strong (ball gets to the opposite wing or corner in the blink of an eye during skip passes) and can be distributed off the live dribble. Mistakes obviously happens but creativity and vision is definitely there so if I coached, I would give him a freedom to fully unlock that potentially star caliber skill. Ball handling issues (honestly besides finishing, that looks like a swing & must improve ability) affect 1.6 A/To ratio much more than bad pass out results.  

*Shooting

Fairly quick trigger with little bit low release point. Can really get into the zone (multiple games with 7 or more three pointers in youth career or for the farm team) but normally streaky guy. There is no visible difference whether attempts are taken off the dribble or after catch or even whether under pressure / with time & space. But unfortunately not a guy to create comfortably with short shot clock.

*Defense

Honest defender who puts in work and pressures his man before he gets to the spot in half court where he starts to run set play from. You can’t deny his willingness but at times Kolenda’s energy looks somewhat unbridled on that end. He never shies away from contact but could have better technique or spacial orientation while trying to go over screens, he covers ground and tries to contest shots but could have better and more automatic rotating awareness on defense. That list could go on. Nevertheless he has a quite strong base, solid footspeed, sits in a good stance and is not easy to got rid of in the open court for American guards. Key is to keep learning but at least he makes up for small deficiencies with vitality and competitiveness.

*Physical Profile

Very good physique and positional or functional strength. Mix of good genetics and sympathy for the weightroom. Just ok quickness and not an explosive leaper. Wingspan seems to equal size in shoes or be just minimally better. Rather big palms, catches the ball easily. What separates him is definitely a motor. It is really rock solid.

*Polish not polished?

With all the due respect for every basketball lifer from my homeland we are years away from having appropriate structures to maximize potential of elite talents. It may be about lack of money, it may be about lack of know how but this piece is not about that. What I meant is that in big degree Lukasz is a diamond in the rough and normally our previous NBA prospects in ongoing century were almost solely big men. I am not 100% sure if he would be better player if left abroad at some point as he had solid development environment anyway, willingness to promote him from the staff and basically always played vs older competition which provided enough challenges. However at times you can notice here and there small lacks in individual technique and overall basketball craft.

OUTLOOK

Lukasz can obviously help himself if invitation for the Eurocamp occurs (editor’s note: it did occur but oh wait, it’s not happening from ridiculous logistics reasons) and during his last act on youth basketball stage in Tel Aviv in July. It may not be easy regarding that camp is kind of jungle environment in which it is easy to get overshadowed especially if it’s your premiere participation. Also Polish U20 team will probably be doomed to fight relegation and he will be constantly facing extremely huge defensive focus on him. How about longer time perspective? As far as I know nearly 10 teams came to Poland to evaluate him live this season which is really solid number. However most likely he will need to withdraw his name and it is kinda hard to believe he can get drafted from where he is at all.

Next year(s) in order to keep attracting NBA people he would have to play even better and finally being on a winning team which won’t be simple for instance due to recent regulation change as far as domestic players on the court are concerned in Polish league (6 or 7 in the roster, instead of two nonstop).

Transfer always brings with it some risk but also potentially brings reward which could help his career more than anything. Playing here for the team with guaranteed cups or moving out to somewhere else in Europe could give his development a boost and make things more clear for executives about his real Draft potential.

Situation is not easy given long term contract with unspecified buyout terms and being prince of a Sopot at the age of 20 with possibility to maintain this status probably the next 15 years. It is definitely a good life but at the same time make it harder to leave comfort zone and take under consideration uncertain options. Therefore as much as I hope he can make it to the (euro)league one day, I hope it won’t be another story from the series “what would happen if…”

Lukasz Kolenda – Poland has always lacked Point Guards on high European level but upcoming generations have some really interesting players on this position. Lukasz is the one who headlines this list. His teammates has to be constantly aware and ready to catch the pass as he possess really wide court vision & ability to share the ball in less expected moment. He is very dynamic and skilled, can also get into the shooting zone. However he tends to be blessing and course for his team at the same time. Body language and the way he communicates with the colleagues also leave a lot to be desired.