Strengths:

 

Sasha Vujacic doesn’t have many definite strengths as of now, but he has shown a little ability to play the combo guard position, and has good height, at 6’7”, to fit that.

 

Vujacic has good ballhandling ability and is smart in terms of passing the ball in the offensive scheme, being highly unselfish and trying to get everyone touches. Vujacic does not force the issue much for better or for worse, and in this aspect tends to fit the typical Triangle guard within the Lakers’ offense. Vujacic is not turnover prone at all and generally plays sound, smart basketball.

 

In terms of his jumpshot, that was one of Vujacic’s major calling cards to the NBA. Although he hasn’t exactly panned out in this area, Vujacic has a quick release coupled with some of the best shooting mechanics you will see in the league. In the triangle offense Vujacic spots up for three pointers most of the time but he also shoots as proficiently from mid-range, just that he takes less shots from that distance. When Vujacic makes his shots it doesn’t even graze the rim, his shot can look very pure at times perhaps giving him potential to become a better shooter, or even a pure shooter, as he gets older. Vujacic is also an excellent free throw shooter, a career 90% shooter from there currently.

 

Vujacic has shown somewhat of a mean streak as the season progressed. He started showing some heart especially on defense, and despite the fact that he’s not good at it, can irritate and pester his man somewhat on the ball, such as the case with Mike Bibby at a point during the season. Vujacic plays with effort defensively, visibly trying to chase his man through screens and keeping good focus on his man in one-on-one situations.

 

Vujacic played all 82 games this season, showing some durability and was ready to play off the bench each time.

 

In the playoffs, Vujacic really started to show some of his potential against the Phoenix Suns. Vujacic attacked the basket more and still made all his free throws (11-11) and shot 60% from three pointers. Hopefully, for him, this may be the sign for things to come.

 

Weaknesses:

 

Vujacic is inefficient in the stat sheet, and really overall in what he does in the court. He shoots the ball at measly percentages, lacks many physical tools that are usually demanded of wing players, and may look one-dimensional on the court at times. What were thought to be his two biggest strengths—height and shooting—aren’t really used to their advantages.

 

The biggest criticism concerning Vujacic is his shooting. Lakers management continue to say that Vujacic shoots “lights-out” in practice, but he never translates this to the court that often. Admittedly, Vujacic improved from the 28% FGs, 27% 3FGs he shot his rookie year, but he still shoots paltry field goal percentages at just a shade over 34%. Over half his shots come from three point territory, but his percentages only show him to be an average shooter at this point at also a shade over 34% (despite having a lot of potential in this area).

 

Vujacic is always going to be a standstill shooter, using his quick release and mechanics to avoid collapsing defenses. Vujacic is not overly impressive in hitting his open shots, and his percentages (which were low to begin with) definitely fall when his shot is contested. Vujacic possesses good ballhandling skills but uses them only within the context of the offense, he lacks the gears, speed and ultimately the dazzle to break his defender down and create his shot. Because Vujacic rarely breaks down the defense, he does not attack the basket much at all, and does not really make a dent even in transition game. Vujacic had 0 dunks all season despite being 6’7”, which may show some indication about whatever slashing game he has. Vujacic got to the line a little over 0.5 times a game this season, horrible in any way you slice it and thus never takes advantage of his excellent free throw shooting.

 

Which brings us to the major point about Vujacic: Physically, Vujacic does not look like much of an NBA player at all. First of all, he is underweight at 195 lbs. and lacks strength both in his upper and lower body. He doesn’t seem to be the type who can put on more weight, and this really hurts his slashing game and affects him somewhat defensively. He really looks lean and skinny even on first glance. Secondly, Vujacic just lacks all the NBA physical tools: he has a poor wingspan, lacks any sort of athleticism/leaping ability and lacks the lateral quickness that no amount of effort can overcome on defense. These lack of physical tools really put Vujacic at a disadvantage both offensively and defensively the moment he steps onto the NBA court.

 

Despite being such a good ballhandler, Vujacic is not much of a passer, as his assist numbers will attest to. He was thought to be a part time point guard when he got drafted but again, his lack of first step and his inability to break down defenders make him helpless in drawing defenders and making passes. Vujacic is unable to create for other players and solely relies on smarts and general passing to get things done. His lack of slashing ability, and ultimately, athleticism hinders his impact in passing the ball.

 

No matter how much effort Vujacic puts on this end of the court, he is a matador defender. Again, Vujacic simply lacks the physical tools to match up well against most of the NBA’s PGs or even backup PGs, and he is often a step behind and rendered helpless against crossovers or slashes to the basket. He has trouble on off-the-ball defense as well, lacking the lateral quickness area, to chase his man down.

 

Vujacic has never been a good scorer throughout his career. He only averaged 4 points a game this season, and a lot of this has to do with his jumpshot. Vujacic may look good shooting the basketball, but the results simply are not there, and he can look one-dimensional just shooting the basketball and doing nothing else effectively at times. Even so, he’s not a good shooter at this point with the lack of results, and that contributes to his really inefficient stat sheet most of the time. Vujacic’s career high was only 12 points, and he’s already played 117 games averaging 16 minutes per game. However, to his credit, he showed more of his scoring prowess in the playoffs.

 

Overall, Vujacic’s strengths at the time he was drafted seem to look like weaknesses and whatever weaknesses he had then were magnified even more in the NBA. He doesn’t do anything particularly well at this point, and it seems like he can only develop into a proficient shooter in the NBA. Despite only being 22 years old, he doesn’t have much NBA potential due to his lack of physical tools, which hinders him vastly both offensively and defensively. Vujacic can only look to be a role player in the league.