Nathan Jawai Signs Guaranteed Contract With Raptors And Will Play in The Las Vegas Summer League

 By RaptorTalk

The Toronto Raptors signed centre Nathan Jawai to a two-year contract on Friday.

Jawai signed the deal with Toronto according to his agent Daniel Moldovan, just a day after being traded from Indiana as part of the T.J. Ford/ Jermaine O'Neal trade.

            

"We have agreed to terms with the Toronto Raptors on a guaranteed two-year deal, which is rare for a second round pick and certainly displays the promise they see in Nathan," Moldovan said.

We are thrilled that Nathan has gone to such a first-class organization and that he will be playing behind two of the true superstars of the NBA in Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh."

"What this means is that Nathan will not only be on the Raptors roster immediately, as opposed to developing further in the NBL, but he will be right in the thick of the minutes given that the team is going with a big-man rotation featuring O'Neal, Bosh, Bargnani, Jawai and Humphries."

The 21-year-old Australian was chosen in the second round, 41st overall, by the Indiana Pacers in last month's NBA draft. He came to Toronto as part of the deal for Jermaine O'Neal.

The six-foot-10, 280-pounder earned rookie of the year honours last season in Australia's National Basketball League, where he averaged 17.7 points and 9.6 rebounds in 30 games for the Cairns Taipans.

He is the first indigenous player from Australia to be drafted by an NBA team and will play for the Raptors' team in the Las Vegas Summer League, with the first game scheduled for Saturday.

No doubt, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo sees good upside in the Australian big man.