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Lucas Marí Scouting Report

DOB: 02-10-2005

Nationality: Spanish

Position: Wing

Height: 6'5

Wingspan: Unknown

Weight: 200 lbs

Team: Valancia Basket / CB L'Horta Godella

Pro Comp: Lite Alex Caruso / Ricky Council IV with less athleticism

Draft range: Late second round / 2025 NBA Draft 

Strengths:
-Pushing the basketball in transition
-Advanced perimeter defense skills
-Powerful driver to the rim
-High energy and senseless-mistakes-free player

Weaknesses:
-Inconsistent shooting mechanics (projected to be a plus shooter at younger ages)
-Predictable game all around
-Not a switchable defender into big forwards or centers

Question marks:
-Interest in pursuing an NBA career
-Translatability of his game 

One of the most frustrating things going into a scouting process for a player might be not understanding the path that some teams are laying out for players with a bright future. Valencia Basket has had a disappointing season from a results point of view, and the null minutes to two of the best players that their Youth Academy has ever produced sum up to that. Lucas Marí has been an under-the-radar prospect for years, probably because doesn't project to be a superstar in his career, but he has a chance of being a star in his role, as many well-regarded NBA players have done in their careers.

Marí was an important part of the U17 and U18 Spanish National Teams that got the silver medal in both the World Cup and European Championship, respectively. Had an interesting matchup in the final facing Serbia, being the primary defender of Nikola Topic, a projected top-3 pick in the upcoming Draft. He did a great job denying him the ball in many possessions but also failed to match the quick first step of Topic in on-ball actions. 

A very physical perimeter defender, sometimes more than he's allowed to. Led the entire LEB Silver in fouls per game in the 2022/23 season, and achieved to cut it from 3.1 to 1.9 fouls per game this season. Better using his hands than his feet to defend, which can be an explanation for his fouling prone. His body and frame should allow him to play at the pro level since a year ago when he was 17 years old. Will take the assignment of being the point of attack defender, but can also be a great reader of passing lanes when playing off-ball, which might come from his ability on the other side of the floor to do decisive passes. For a player of his age, being used in a Euroleague game as a defensive specialist to guard Vasilije Micic should be considered a signal about how special he is.

Despite his body allows him to absorb contact from bigger players, his wingspan is not enough to actually be able to contest the shot of bigger forwards or centers, both from the perimeter and the post. Would be interesting to see him taking more charges using his understanding of the game to at least overcome the fact that he won't be a guy with a high %dFG differential at the rim, and is not even clear if he's going to be able to have negative differentials (which would mean opponents are less efficient at the rim when he's defending them).

He has not been allowed to be a full-time point guard in the last years of his career despite his skill to push the basketball in transition and to set entire plays in half-court basketball. Sharing the basketball court for many years with Sergio De Larrea, the new talent signed by PrioritySports agency, who is a 6'7 traditional point guard, has made Marí, at best, serve as a secondary ball-handler. His handle is a little sloppy, and he can get careless with the ball at times. He loves to attempt jump passes, especially on drives and kicks, which certainly have a higher turnover risk than a normal pass. This season he's averaging more turnovers than assists per game, something that might warn up teams that believe in his archetype. Checking the film, especially from these games where he posted the most turnovers, losing his handle while attacking the rim represents a high rate of his turnovers instead of his passes.

His three-point shooting mechanics remain as inconsistent as they were a year ago, and this is not something related to makes and misses. He has very little discipline in his body mechanics and footwork, probably related to a sense of urgency to have a quick release and take the least contested shoot as possible. Fingertip shooter who places his elbows far away from his chest, and his release point is as high as it can be. Would benefit from working with shooting trainers who work with the foundation he already has to build a consistent shooting form.

Rebounding is an area of the game he will be able to impact at the highest level, and that sums up his skillset as a potential prime role player. Has very good instincts to fight for rebounds, averaging nearly 7 rebounds per 40 minutes this season. 

He was ahead of the process when he was a really solid player who would be good enough to see minutes in a low-tier ACB League team at just 17 years old. In that period, he got null opportunities to play at Valencia Basket's first team and spent the whole time playing in the third tier of Spanish basketball on loan into satellite team CB L'Horta Godella, where he was able to have an enhanced role, but his progress has not been exactly linear. The team has been way better than the last year and he has been an important reason for increasing his ORtg from 89.7 to 98.1 and improving his FG% from a mediocre 36% to an impressive 50.1% which comes mainly from the pressure he puts at the rim.

To pursue an NBA career, his major interest should be in being able to play in the first division of any country or college basketball. He had a really good chance to do so, if he was interested, last summer after his strong performances in youth tournaments. Despite that, his belongingness to Valencia Basket probably ties him to accept whatever they do for his development. Hard to believe he has a real interest in the NBA if he doesn't decide to part ways as players like Aday Mara and Conrad Martínez did or a promise of higher playing minutes the next season arrives. 

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