Top Three NBA Landing Spots for Illinois Guard Kasparas Jakucionis

But where exactly are his best fits?  Here are three potential destinations: 

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors’ lead guard is Immanuel Quickley – a crafty scorer and excellent shooter, but not a true table-setter. To top it off, the injury-riddled Quickley has appeared in just 101 total games over the last three seasons. The next option is 6-foot-7 Scottie Barnes, who certainly embodies the term point forward, but better serves Toronto’s needs as a go-to scorer from the wing. 

Cue Jakucionis, with his combination of playmaking and shooting to take the pressure off both Quickley and Barnes, allowing the pair to focus on what they do best: scoring. 

Sacramento Kings

Stepping into a bigger role after De’Aaron Fox’s departure to the Spurs, third-year guard Keon Ellis, who is listed as a shooting guard, became the Kings' de facto lead guard. He averaged a whopping 1.5 assists on the season. 

Jakucionis, similar to the situation in Toronto, could immediately bridge the gap and take over facilitating duties in Sacramento, helping set up the trio of bucket-getters in Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis. 

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets were just 26-56 last season, facing injuries throughout the roster, and hardly firing on all cylinders even when the squad was fully healthy. D’Angelo Russell “starred” in the backcourt – averaged 12.6 points and 5.1 assists – while forward Cameron Johnson carried the crux of the scoring load with 18.8 points per game last year. 

Certainly the squad Jakucionis would be most needed as a scorer, his craftiness, patience around the rim, and full arsenal of stepback triples could be fully unleashed. Toss in his playmaking duties alongside Russell and the Nets could take a step forward – albeit likely a small one – next season, while Jakucionis would be well-positioned to put together a campaign worthy of All-Rookie Honors.

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