Jawai cleared!!!

[And1Viper]

YES JAWAIIIIIIIIIII!

[leaguegod692]

From what I've seen, I picture a less skilled Andrew bynum, the ability to back a man down and he has the necessary wingspan and athleticism to throw it down.

Problem is the competition down in Australia isn't quite as good as the NBA, so he may have just been dominating down there with raw strength. He doesn't have a polished game, just started playing basketball 4 or 5 years ago. Still, he was Rookie of the Year in Australia's NBL

fair points


the NBL is very poor and jawai was often just to big and to strong but there were a few bigs that go ok who he outplayed, a few olympians, a few former nba players and guys with plenty of european experience

i think one pretty big positive for jawai is that he has got this far in a few years, he was in his mid to late teens before he picked up a basketball, so i think he has solid potential but nothing is guranteed, he will at the very least go hard and be physical tho

i don't think we'll see him on the court for a while, he'll be out of shape, he has pretty much done nothing the last few months

[beertank23]

Yeah the NBL is weak, mind you he made some people look stupid and he can definetly throw it down, he has good hands and training and playing with great players he is going to improve 2 fold. He can shoot free throws, mind you i wouldn't bank too much on his contested jumper (i.e. facing up).

He's no Bynum, I liken him to the guy from Detroit who's name escapes me at the moment. Maxiell?? maybe??

[J Dilla]

I'm so happy and relieved for the guy. Can't wait to see him on the court on Friday. His movement and footwork looked solid. Can't wait to see some toughness with Jawai and JO.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'm glad to see he's going to get a shot, I really like him and I like that he can play with any combo of the bigs (Bosh, O'Neal, Or Bargnani).

[TooKool4Skool]

Good for him, If anything he should have a positive influence on the team.You know the comeback story, you know how it goes. Any good run we get out of him is an extra

[Contract Season]

Even if he's Jahidi White, that's not bad for the 41st pick.
Similar size, 6-foot-9, 290.
Jawai's quicker though and more explosive.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jahidi_white/index.html

[Legal Non-Conforming]

He has to get in shape to play in the NBA (his conditioning has always been a problem) AND he has to learn the NBA game. I think he's going to spend some time in the D-League and I don't expect him to have any impact on the team until next season. Even so, this is fantastic news for Jawai and great news for the Raptors. He could become a big part of their future.

[ikosuave]

I wonder if we would have still signed Pryzbilla if we had known Nathan would be back. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do, but either way, it'll be nice to not have an idle body sitting on our roster.

Przybilla, you say?

When did we sign Przybilla?

[theSkinny]

Im happy for the guy.... must have been really tough to sit back and do nothing.
I bet we dont see him on the court for the raps this season

Why wouldn't we? CLEARED means he's going to play.

I hope so...but the guy a) has only got four years exp b) has been on the shelf for six weeks c) Voskuhl is ahead of him on the depth charts

I think he will be in the D league if anywhere...which isnt so bad for his development.

I do want to see this man knock some people out *cough*KG*cough* though

[Ku-Bar]

Nate just mentioned in an interview with Ulmer he expects to be ready for next season....

[evilRyu]

Nate just mentioned in an interview with Ulmer he expects to be ready for next season....

Are you referring to this interview: http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?c ... -jawai.asx

If so, he said "next year", probably meaning January 2009 at the earliest (not next season).

[Ku-Bar]

Nate just mentioned in an interview with Ulmer he expects to be ready for next season....

Are you referring to this interview: http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?c ... -jawai.asx

If so, he said "next year", probably meaning January 2009 at the earliest (not next season).

That's the one. I believe you're correct (evilRyu) and I'm actually glad if I was mistaken. Excited to see what "Jaws" can do and sincerely greatful he was cleared to play.

...I guess I jumped to the conclusion that he wouldn't be ready to play until next "season" and that's why we signed Jake. Perhaps a 2 for 1 trade may be on the horizon after all...?

[underdog33]

Jawai will likely no see anytime for at least a month, and Jawai feels that he’ll spend much of the year getting comfortable with the feel of playing and be fully ready for next season.

http://blog.rogersbroadcasting.com/eric ... practices/