Nathan Jawai

280?!?! He looks long and lean in that clip. He looks really good too. I hope Morey buys more 2nd round picks this year so he can snatch up overseas players like this guy. I love how he's collecting overseas talent. Low risk, high reward.

 

This guy's a first rounder for sure. His name is all over the draft boards. He would be a good pickup for us though.

 

That sucks. When I was looking around at draft boards yesterday I was seeing him go in the early 2nd round.

Nonetheless, I like it when Morey uses 2nd round picks to gamble on promising players overseas. The Spurs have done that masterfully. I still can't believe they drafted Manu at 57.

 

Intriguing, though I get the sense Morey likes productive college players, not overseas guys with measurables like Jawai.

 

Actually, he drafted an overseas guy last season. See Brad Newley. Morey has gone on record as saying he thinks using second rounders on foreign players and leaving them overseas is an excellent way to stockpile talent and assets. So if Jawai is a second rounder, I could see Morey being all over it. I agree with you if he goes in the first round though.

 

Interesting -- I stand corrected about the whole "overseas" thing, though I still believe Morey values productivity and makeup over measurables. This guy does seem like he's been productive in Australia, though.

 

Judging just from the youtube highlights, this guy seems pretty good. I doubt he'd go in the second round. Teams that need a post presence will be wanting to draft this guy, like the Bulls for example.

 

I live in Aus thus have to watch the NBL

I have seen this guy play and i all i can say is this guy has good some potential.

His big, long, athletic for his size and decent speed for a 280pound guy.

He really teared it up in the australian all star game dunking over people, nailing J's after J's.

Good prospect

 

Possibly Deke's replacement and Yao's backup?

DD

 

what the **** are you complaining about?

not only is the NBL a excellent, although under appreciated product, there is just as much, if not more, NBA on down here as there is NBL.

 

The Nbl may be excellent to you but for me i think it's ok. All im saying is yes i live in Aus thus i watch nbl games..

The reason why i did the rolly eyes thing was that alot of the games were always featuring teams like the kings.. tigers .. etc

Finally im NOT complaining about the Nbl if i was.. why would i even bother to watch it?

 

Guys,

This is my brother's account and i lurk through it so don't take this post as a reflection of Rocketfish.

But please.

Newley was the ROY in the NBL. Did he even make the team?

Chris Anstey won the MVP this season and the Finals MVP.
What did he do in the NBA when he was in his PRIME?

All i'm saying is discredit how much 'talent' this guy has because he is dunking it over NBL players.

A fast break 2 handed dunk where the player barely gets the ball above the rim is classified as the 'dunk of the night'.

The NBL is not a talented league compared to the NBA (but which is?)

... all i'm saying is i live in Australia. I can't even bring myself to watching many of the games. If you like fast break pull up 3 pointers (when there is no defender) than the NBL is for you. But talent is grossly overrated in the nbl because well.. There really isn't that much.

I would not draft this guy.

He has size. But don't let his stats fool you.
There are what - 3 other 7 footers in the league. One is Anstey. The other 2 barely make an impact.

Don't believe the hype guys.
Just don't get your hopes up.

 

Rocketfish, you may be right but Jawai is only 22/23 this year and i think the hype about him now is his potential.

+ This year in the nbl was his Debut season so there maybe more we can see out of him if his is to develop in Europe.

As a rookie, he led his taipans team in points (17.7pts/game) fg % (57.5% good for 5th in the L), 9.6rebs/game 3.3Off/6.6def = 3rd Leading rebounder in the league and 9th in blocked shots (1/game) He did all this whilst in his rookie year. Yes even though this is the NBL but this is still quite good.

As i said again, the hype is in his potential.. he could be a solid role player in the NBA or a total 6-10 scrub but we won't know till he gets the opportunity.

 

By all means you're entitled to your opinion.

And i know about the potential - i actually wasn't aware he was that young either..

But as i said as they are good stats - you have to take into consideration how much more physical the nba is - how much BIGGER the opposition is. I can't stress that enough.

Like i mentioned earlier there are barely any 7 footers in the league - in the NBA he'll be coming across one every night. And if it isn't a 7 footer it's a 6'9+ player with athleticism and sheer strength he would never have experienced in the nbl.

That's the big thing i'm just being realistic about.

I'll concede i didn't know he was that young so all in all he may aswell be a very good prospect. But if given the opportunity as you say - i think it will be evident how much skill he has.

The bottom line for me is. I'd be very impressed if he averages remotely close to the same numbers against opposition from others trying to get into the NBA.

 

Good post hooroo!

Jawai will measure up at 7' by NBA standards

He has a real nice touch around the hoop, and certainly goes hard to the hoop for the dunk.

Well worth picking up - a guy that big who can move that well is always worth a shot! I can't see how he's a worse player than someone like Zaur Pachulia - just needs his opportunity to come over and play against some big guys and learn how to score against athletic players.

To rocketfish:
The NBL might not be the most athletic league in the world - but the Australians definitely play a physical game - anyone who can get 9.6rpg in that league knows how to use their body to hold others off.

On Newley: the guy can flat out shoot - and he can handle the ball a little. His defensive movement is questionable...