Kali’s Korner: Rokas Jokubaitis

Written by Nick Kalinowski

2020-21 Stats (Euroleague): 7.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 45.4% FG, 38.8% 3PT, 75.6% FT

Age: 20 at start of next NBA season. Height: 6’4”. Wingspan: ???

For all the conversation surrounding this year’s diverse collection of international prospects, one player seems to have fallen out of the realm of discussion, trapped from the limelight by the likes of Usman Garuba, Josh Giddey, and Alperen Sengun. A sturdy 6’4” guard from Lithuania, Rokas Jokubaitis was considered to be a surefire second-round pick coming into the 2020 draft cycle, before he inevitably opted to return for another year of development. Following a significant increase in minutes this past season, Jokubaitis provided plenty of opportunities to showcase his full skill set against some of the best non-NBA competition in the world. That being said, he still seems to be flying under the radar on many draft boards, with some major outlets omitting him completely from their rankings. As such, I will take a closer look at Jokubaitis’ ever-growing arsenal of skills, and examine his potential as an NBA-level talent.

Strengths:

Rokas’s playmaking skills are beyond his years. He consistently shows the ability to complete difficult passes through tight windows, and rarely puts the ball in harm’s way (as evidenced by his overall low turnover numbers). He operates equally well both within the set half-court offense and more free-flowing situations (such as in transition), and his above-average vision allows him to anticipate plays before they develop. Likewise, Jokubaitis’ placement on his passes is among the best in the entire class, as he regularly puts the ball in optimal positions where his teammates can immediately convert scoring opportunities, as shown in the play below:

In the above sequence, Rokas comes off the high dribble-handoff to his dominant left hand, works around the arc, and delivers a picture-perfect one-handed dime to the cutting forward. Plays like this show up all over his film and demonstrate that he possesses complete knowledge of the offense, quick processing speed, and adept delivery on a wide variety of passes. 

In addition, Rokas’s ball-handling is superb for a player who projects as a combo guard at the next level (we will get more into this later). The modern NBA requires players at all positions to have the ability to grab the rebound and push into transition, and Rokas is no stranger to these situations. In the clip above, Rokas pushes the tempo and puts a beautiful half-spin fake on the closeout defender, before recognizing the help and delivering another perfect pocket pass to the open teammate. The most remarkable part of this play to me was the fact that the entirety of it was completed with his non-dominant right hand, demonstrating that he is unafraid to attack either side of the floor, and boasts an advanced handle that will be an asset to pro offenses. 

Weaknesses:

Unfortunately, Rokas’s main weakness stems from genetics rather than effort. He simply isn’t quick-footed enough to defend NBA point guards and struggled mightily even when matched up against the lower-tier LKL teams. While he isn’t flat-footed (a good thing), he has a tendency to become extra jumpy when guarding on the ball, which leads to him shifting his feet too far on even the simplest dribble moves. As a result, he becomes forced to overcompensate on the recovery, enabling the offensive player to more easily get by him with simple dribble combinations. 

Here we see an example of Rokas’s poor defensive footwork when facing a quick guard. The initial right-handed power dribble provokes Rokas to shift his entire body 90 degrees to the right, in anticipation of a drive. When that doesn’t happen, he has to switch his feet back to their initial orientation to regain positioning. However, he doesn’t learn from his first mistake, as the ball handler hits him with the same right-handed power dribble, but this time combines it with a right-to-left between the legs, which leaves Rokas hanging totally out to dry. At the next level, he will have to be matched up against off-ball guards and wings who may not have elite ball-handling acumen, but even then I think he projects as below average on the defensive end of the floor.

On the offensive end of the floor, I am not a particularly huge fan of the upper half of Rokas’s jumpshot motion. Although he sets his base aligned with the basket consistently, the wrist action on the follow through is of particular concern. It’s not uncommon to see Rokas use several different motions over the course of a game, and occasionally (as seen in the clip above) he displays an awkward wrist-snap motion (although not as prominent as the one seen in fellow Euro prospect Roko Prkacin). Consistency on jumpshots will be key to his offensive development, which I think will come with a greater frequency of attempts (Rokas only attempted 49 threes in 649 Euroleague minutes this past season). 

Finally, Rokas can get himself into trouble trying to single-handedly create plays for his team. While his creation for others is top-notch, I find that his self-creation can be lacking at times, especially when he puts his head down and takes his eyes off of the play. He becomes determined to finish the play on his own, which leads to ill-advised drives into traffic, such as in the play above. His lack of willingness and consistency on his jumpshot also shows up here as well, as he passes up multiple open looks at a three in favor of the dribble penetration, which leads to a turnover because he simply doesn’t have burst to blow by his well-positioned defender to create space.

The Verdict:

It has become quite cliché at this point to compare European guards to Ricky Rubio, and Rokas is no exception. While Rokas does have Rubio-esque playmaking skills, he lacks the Spaniard’s sound defensive fundamentals and crafty finishing ability. As such, it is difficult to project Jokubaitis as a starting lead guard in the NBA, and I think his future lies as a passing specialist role player off the bench (barring significant jumpshot improvements). This is a role we have seen filled by players such as Rajon Rondo and Ish Smith in recent years, and Rokas has a significant height advantage over both of them. He will operate the offense to perfection, rarely make a sloppy pass, and take low-percentage shots only when absolutely necessary. All that said, I have Rokas Jokubaitis as a mid second-round pick on my big board, and he should carve out a long (possibly journeyman) career in the NBA should he choose to leave Europe.