Raptors 905 are about to add quite a prospect, and quite a pair of hands.
Edy Tavares' hands are absurdly huge, even from across the court. pic.twitter.com/sKpQ0nxHpX
— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) December 3, 2015
Edy Tavares, the former second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks, is nearing an agreement with the 905, according to a report from international basketball reporter David Pick. Raptors Republic has confirmed that the 905 own the No. 1 waiver priority in the D-League, so as long as they’re not bumped from that top spot before Tavares’ D-League contract officially comes through, they’ll be able to claim him from the player pool. (Teams can not independently agree to deals with players outside of the D-League player pool waiver-claim process, unless they’re Affiliate Players cut by the parent club, but there’s about a zero-percent chance the 905 can be jumped in the coming days.)
In order to make room for Tavares, the 905 would have to waive one of the 12 players on their roster, and it would likely come down to a choice between Negus Webster-Chan and J.T. Terrell, though Goodluck Okonoboh is a possibility if the team doesn’t want to carry three centers.
Whatever the case, adding Tavares would represent quite a coup, a tidy pay-off for the 905 only using two Affiliate Player tags (which help determine waiver priority). Still just 24, the 7-foot-3 Tavares has 12 games of NBA experience with the Hawks and more than half a season of D-League experience across three teams a season ago. In 29 D-League games, he averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks while shooting65.2 percent, all in just 21.6 minutes. He could be a major factor for the 905 both on the defensive end and on the glass, and he and Yanick Moreira could stand as quite the defensive platoon at the five.
The Hawks' Walter Tavares (7'3" tall, 7'9" wingspan) also has REALLY big hands. pic.twitter.com/4Q9LrC2ShG
— David MacKay (@DavidMacKayNBA) October 21, 2015
Prior to joining the NBA, Tavares spent several seasons in the Spanish ACB league, even earning All-Eurocup First Team honors in 2014-15. Still quite raw at the offensive end, the Cape Verde native boasts a 7-foot-9 wingspan and looked to have improved at least a little bit in Summer League, averaging nine points on 63.6-percent shooting over six games.
As a comparison, Edy Tavares has 3" height, 4" standing reach, 3" wingspan on Lucas Nogueira.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) November 11, 2016
This is a bit of a long-term flier, to be sure, but there’s a reason the Hawks gave Tavares two seasons on their NBA roster to see what he had. The Raptors organization doesn’t need to do that, here, and can try to develop him on the junior circuit in hopes of tapping into the obvious potential his frame promises. If nothing else, he’ll be a lot of fun to watch swatting away shots at the Hershey Centre rims.
