Rokas Jokubaitis

Rokas Jokubaitis, New York Knicks – 34^th overall

It is likely that Jokubaitis stays in Europe for at least another year considering the Knicks drafted another guard in Miles McBride and Tom Thibodeau’s track record of not playing rookies much. This would mean that Jokubaitis will make the move from Žalgiris to Barcelona to reunite with Šarūnas Jasikevičius. Jokubaitis is a point guard with good playmaking skills and EuroLeague experience. It is up to him to continue to develop and prove critics of his athleticism wrong. He can learn a lot from playing with Nick Calathes.   

Rokas Jokubaitis is rarely polished playmaker for still teenager. Team is stacked with capable offensive initiators but surely there will be many games in LKL which Rokas can start in and let key players rest a bit and be more fresh for another Euroleague battle. Speaking of it he may be ready to log more minutes in best European competition this season as well comparing to only 6mpg last year.

ROKAS JOKUBAITIS (PG, 2000, Lithuania, Zalgiris Kaunas).

HEIGHT: 193 cm

WEIGHT: 88 kg

HANDEDNESS: left

PHYSICAL/ATHLETIC TOOLS 

Good frame with a very solid and compact upper body which offensively enables him to absorb physical contacts quite well and defensively to put pressure on the ball and to get through screens with efficiency. Good size. More athletic than explosive, he owns a notable motor: remarkable running ability, speed open court athlete, good endurance. Nice footwork, but still improvable.

OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE STRENGTHS

Very creative, skilled guard who possesses natural instinct to pass the ball. Lefty crafty passer and generally very good court vision. He is an efficient pick and roll’s player. Shows great timing by being able to go around hedge, finding the roller and  hitting the weakside corner as well with his left hand punishing the defensive rotations. Can pass over the top. Also able to push the stop button to read the defense and pass the ball. Head and eyes up. Good decision maker. Unselfish player with advanced IQ.

He pushes the pace in transition by whipping the ball and knowing the lanes to attack. He feels comfortable in open court: fast, smooth and capable at passing on the move. Knows how to read defense also in these situations. Decent athlete.

Maybe not the best in terms of explosiveness, but he owns a nice first step to beat defender in 1 on 1 and is strong physically to go through contacts. Likes to make a hesitation move before attacking. Can change his speed while driving. Good use of weak hand. Can drive and dish.

Solid mid-range shooter, going right and left as well. Very efficient at catching and shooting the ball behind the arc. Improved as shot creator, having much more confidence and showing a better shooting form compared to the past. Smooth and balanced. Soft touch.

He knows how to attack close-outs: ready hands to receive the ball and consequently read the defender’s position.

Able to attack the defensive switches, finishing also with the right hand. Has touch around the rim and can finish in different ways. Can perform soft floaters, too.

Very nice off the ball player: good cutter, intelligent at figuring out the timing to make the best possible cut. Always ready to play offering the right spacing and clear passing lanes on the floor.

Notable defensive attitude. Can apply pressure on the ball with a very competent defensive technique: always the right stance with nice footwork and quick hands. Great awareness about off the ball defense thanks to his fundamentals. He is active with his hands to make deflections or anticipations, working on the passing lanes. Can do energetic, hustle plays. Fights also when he is not involved in a good match-up.

OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE WEAKNESSES

He possesses an ok ball-handling, but has to develop it and to mix up different moves in order to become less predictable.

Sometimes he exaggerates dribbling when he runs a pick and roll, looses the correct timing to make the decision and is double-teamed with high risk of turnovers.

Needs to get better in regards to finishing in the traffic: he is able to absorb the contacts quite well, but still not enough for the maximum level. Has room for improvement about that.

Improved, but still not a great shot creator. A lot of his attempts are catch and shoot based situations.

Despite improving consistently his shooting stroke, sometimes he doesn’t have great balance while pulling up for a jumper, going a little bit backwards and loosing efficiency. But anyway always shows a truly nice follow-trough.

He gained self-confidence, but still he can do an other mental step in order to increase the trust in his tools.

Defensively he should still improve his footwork: has great stance and abnegation, but he may have some issues when he has to guard really quick and explosive players. Not elite athlete.

PERSONALITY

Amazing character. He goes through physical contacts fearlessly. Knows how to lead a team, generates advantages for his teammates due to his creativity. Maybe he should believe more in his individual potential. Team player, unselfish. Incredibly smart, brainy guy with elite IQ. The lucidity and the comprehension of the game are advanced for his age. Able to take responsibilities also in crucial moments of the game. Great desire to learn and get better. Has potential to be an elite euro guard Diamantidis style.

Who stole the show in Kiedainiai from him was Rokas Jokubaitis. Talented guard who has a double license played just 4th game of the season but his ceiling may be even higher than any of Zalgiris current roster member career peak. Competition was not very demanding but he seems to be ready to play double digit LKL minutes night in night out from physical, mental and skill standpoint. If it can’t be provided here then loaning him to mid level rival from domestic league seems beneficial for either side. Rokas was eager to show that he belongs, was very competitive and impactful defensively. On attacking side of the floor he presented classic Jokubaitis repertoire from youth level by being able to score & distribute after PnR thanks to his immediate game reading ability. I am not sure yet about NBA upside but reaching Kostas Sloukas level one day seems achievable in his case in my eyes.

ROKAS JOKUBAITIS (6’3, 2000, GUARD, ZALGIRIS KAUNAS) – A lot of eyes were at Rokas after his stunning performance vs Prienai in BBB Challenge. He was a leader of Zalgiris but 3rd place happens to be the worst result since years for Lithuanian powerhouse. Talented guard is a nightmare in pick and roll game. His reads are unbelievably quick and correct. Court vision allows him to make dishes with authority and he opens the game for the teammates thanks to defensive focus that he attracts. Moreover he possess nice hesitation dribble, enough wiggle with the ball and amazingly crafty footwork while driving to the rim. Ability to change directions combined with tremendous body control which allows him to maintain solid balance and increase the chance for making the layup are something you can neither teach nor defend. What can be worrying and decrease NBA chances is shooting. Form looks ok but Rokas made only 16 from 68 3pt shots this season including AdidasNGT qualifier. Also his frame is quite maximized.