Cape Verdean Walter “Edy” Tavares, who was selected 43rd by the Atlanta Hawks in last month’s NBA Draft, will spend the 2014-15 season with Gran Canaria of Spain’s ACB League, he told supersport.com on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-3 centre showed impressive rim protection during the Summer League with Hawks, averaging 6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, though he is on the way back to the team that projected him to the NBA.
“I have received positive feedback from the Hawks coaching staff,” he said. “Then we agreed I should return to Spain and report next year. I feel that I will need a lot more playing time, which is good for me, as I need to improve aspects of my game and get physically stronger.”
Last season, the 22-year-old who first played organised basketball five years ago, averaged 6 points, 6.8 boards and 1.5 blocks per game with for Gran Canaria.
If “Edy” succeeds in playing for the Hawks, he would become the first Cape Verde native to play in the NBA.
But first, he knows, there is a lot to work to do. Tavares needs to adapt to the NBA playing style quickly.
The difference between the ACB and the Summer League, he says, “is big.”
“In Spain, it is all about team game, we play slower and the game is clearly more tactical, whereas in the Summer League everybody runs up and down the floor, and individual plays seem to come first.
“For newcomers like myself it was challenging. But getting to know players in similar circumstances to me was an incredible experience,” he said.
When asked to explain what he would do differently next year, Tavares said: “I am sure next Summer League I’ll come back better and stronger because I now know what to expect and, more importantly, I want to play for the Hawks, which is my ultimate career goal.”
Until then, he says: “I want to keep making an impact in the ACB.”
