Nathan Jawai

[PRIDE]

If this guy came to this team with the right mindset and was willing to play hard he could be a STEAL. He has the athletic potential to be a good rebounder and defender. He wont be able to contribute much to this team without doing that first. He can catch and dunk with ease so hes a threat on offense. From the videos I saw it seemed like he had some decent post moves but nothing special. Put him with Clifford Ray for a few seasons and he could turn into a low post scorer.

[kw10]

This question is directed at people who have watched Australian basketball.  How is the level of basketball out there compared to college basketball here?

IMHO, Australian basketball (the NBL-which is facing crisis at the moment) is similar to NCAA, althoguh NCAA Div 1 definitely got better athletes and some better teams. FYI, I know a couple of ballers from my HS that plays/will be playing bball for one of the top Div 2 NCAA colleges (Alaska Anchorage), while I'm not 100% sure, but they are not a guarantee to make any NBL teams, although hard to say when they finish their 4 years-so judge yourself. So my guess is that NBL teams are above average in NCAA.

With that said, Jawai while in one of the interviews, he appears to be a suprisingly nice guy (with good attitude) for someone with a meanstreak on the court.

[ACF]

Looks like dude can play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpJszNGHjNA

[Casperian]

Hereīs an interview with Jawai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSmcGQaqR3w&eurl=http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/2008_draft_interview_jawai.html


At the 3 minute mark, they ask him "Lakers or Celtics?", and he says Celtics, with a look on his face as if he wants to say "Cīmon, thatīs obvious". 

[PRIDE]

In that interview he said he's only been playing for 4 years. That means he has A LOT of room for improvement and he'll need to expand his BB IQ while learning the American game of basketball.

[kozlodoev]

In that interview he said he's only been playing for 4 years. That means he has A LOT of room for improvement and he'll need to expand his BB IQ while learning the American game of basketball.

This means poor fundamentals as well. My impression is that players like this are a disaster waiting to happen, not a lot of room for improvement. I have a problem naming any player at all that came to the NBA with 4 years of experience in organized ball and became a legitimate contributor.

[PRIDE]

In that interview he said he's only been playing for 4 years. That means he has A LOT of room for improvement and he'll need to expand his BB IQ while learning the American game of basketball.

This means poor fundamentals as well. My impression is that players like this are a disaster waiting to happen, not a lot of room for improvement. I have a problem naming any player at all that came to the NBA with 4 years of experience in organized ball and became a legitimate contributor.

Yes, the fact that he has only been playing for 4 years makes him a total project. He will be lacking a lot of the fundamentals that other players developed throughout their entire lives. However, I think we need to consider that Perk wasnt very fundamentally sound when we drafted him. Jawai is probably further along or at least equal to Perk when he was drafted. He might not be able to contribute right away but he could be a talented player for the future.

[rondofan1255]

He kind of reminds me of Saer Sene, the Senegal dude a few years back who people said had potential as a big man, but had started playing basketball really late. He still hasn't contributed yet.

[cdif911]

with Clifford Ray working with the kid daily, I can see the argument for a project big man, but I'm still not sure about this kid - from the highlights it looks like he can be big in the post, but look at the competition, not exactly nba level or even NCAA... I think he'd get eaten alive by the NBA bigs. He seems to have a few post moves, but again we're only watching highlights.  Not many succesful guys have come out of Australia, Bogut and Luc Longley are the only ones who come to mind - the other ones I can think of Antsey and Heal both stunk - Longley and Bogut did both prove themselves in the NCAA system before being drafted to the NBA too... I think the potential reward on Jawaii may be higher than the risk, Danny's too smart to waste a draft pick on a "potential" guy, even at 30 - if he feels the value is there and the kid can play, he's the expert and I'm all for it - In Danny We Trust!

[SoberVinBaker]

I have a problem naming any player at all that came to the NBA with 4 years of experience in organized ball and became a legitimate contributor.

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo

[Casperian]

I have a problem naming any player at all that came to the NBA with 4 years of experience in organized ball and became a legitimate contributor.

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo

Hakeem Olajuwon started at the age of 17
Andrew Bynum with 15

Fluid, athletic big men are a rare breed. They have natural advantages. Fundamentals come with time. Many players have great fundamentals and never make it to the NBA. In fact, the whole NBA is full of players that lack fundamentals, nowadays.

See it this way:
If he only needed 4 years to work himself into a position where heīs considered a possible first-round pick, he seems to have a good work ethic, talent and ball IQ.

Iīm not saying thatīs the case with Jawai, but itīs too easy to say he isnīt a good pick because he might lack fundamentals, imo.

[cordobes]

More than the lack of fundamentals, I think many are overlooking his size. He'll be an undersized center in the NBA.

[BudweiserCeltic]

More than the lack of fundamentals, I think many are overlooking his size. He'll be an undersized center in the NBA.

With the lack of big Centers in the NBA, this shouldn't much of a problem. Also, I could see him used as a big PF at times.

[cordobes]

More than the lack of fundamentals, I think many are overlooking his size. He'll be an undersized center in the NBA.

With the lack of big Centers in the NBA, this shouldn't much of a problem. Also, I could see him used as a big PF at times.

How many successful 6'8'' centers are in the NBA today? I've never seen him playing, but if the scouting reports are accurate and he lacks lateral quickness, a jump-shot, perimeter defense and has a terrible off-hand, he'll really have to develop a lot in order to be able to play in the NBA as a PF.

[BudweiserCeltic]

More than the lack of fundamentals, I think many are overlooking his size. He'll be an undersized center in the NBA.

With the lack of big Centers in the NBA, this shouldn't much of a problem. Also, I could see him used as a big PF at times.

How many successful 6'8'' centers are in the NBA today? I've never seen him playing, but if the scouting reports are accurate and he lacks lateral quickness, a jump-shot, perimeter defense and has a terrible off-hand, he'll really have to develop a lot in order to be able to play in the NBA as a PF.

Isn't he 6'10''?