The NBA potential of Jonas Valanciunas 

June, 8, 2011
06/08/11
12:16
PM ET

This is an NBA draft that is devoid of big men, so Lithuania's 7-foot, 245-pound 19-year-old, Jonas Valanciunas, has a lot of interest from teams in the lottery. At his age, there is no doubting his intriguing potential, but expecting him to help a team right away is unrealistic.

More critically for teams in position to select him is projecting where Valanciunas' game will be five years from now. It is not inconceivable to some NBA personnel that he could be the best player in this draft by then -- of course the risk is that the NBA executive that drafts him could be fired by then.

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To read Fran Fraschilla's full breakdown of Jonas Valanciunas, including his closest NBA comparison, become an ESPN Insider today.

Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico.

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