Raptors 905 have acquired 7-foot-3 center Edy Tavares, the team announced Saturday.
The potential addition was first reported on Friday by David Pick. Waived by the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 31, Tavares opted to join the D-League player pool rather than head overseas, and the 905 used the top waiver priority in the league to grab him. It’s easy to see why they would, given he was a second-round pick just a few years ago, has three or four inches on the enormous Lucas Nogueira in terms of height (7-foot-3), standing reach (9-foot-10), and wingspan (7-foot-9), is still just 24, and has enjoyed moderate success in the Spanish ACB league and the D-League in the past.
We provided a full write-up yesterday, so we’ll direct you there for more detail. Here’s what you need to know:
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.
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.
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.
Once Tavares joins the team – he’s expected to do so next week, in time for the Nov. 18 season opener – the 905 will have to waive a player. Negus Webster-Chan and J.T. Terrell were likely the “last two in” for the final cuts and stand out as the most likely names to be waived, but if the 905 don’t want to carry three centers, former top recruit Goodluck Okonoboh could be a candidate, too. (The guess is Terrell, but Webster-Chan’s local roots would make him an easier candidate to cut with the hopes of bringing him back later, like the club did with Ashton Smith a year ago.)
