Day: June 20, 2011

Euroleague.net reports:

Euroleague newcomer Unics Kazan (in Russia) loaded up its frontline with the signing of center Australian center Nathan Jawai, who comes off a strong Euroleague debut season with Partizan Belgrade. Jawai (208, 24) averaged 9.1 points and 5 rebounds in 16 Euroleague games with Partizan last season, which was his first in Europe. He contributed 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in the Adriatic League in helping Partizan lift that title as well as the Serbian League and Serbian Cup crowns. Before joining Partizan, Jawai spent two seasons in North America, suiting up for Minnesota and Toronto in the NBA and Sioux Falls and Idaho in the NBDL.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The 6-10, 280-pound Australia native is a likeable bloke who played for the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves between 2008 and 2010, averaging 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game during his brief NBA stint.

Euroleague.net reports:

One of the signature stars and true gentlemen of the Euroleague over the last decade, Trajan Langdon of CSKA Moscow, announced his retirement from basketball on the club’s website Saturday. Langdon was a two-time Euroleague champion, in 2006 and 2008, and a three-time runner-up. He was the 2008 Final Four MVP and leaves the competition ranked fifth all-time in three-pointers made (339) and sixth in both scoring (2,178 points) and steals (216). He made his announcement two days after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian League crown. “Eight out of my nine years in Europe, I have been able to end the season with a win, which means that I’ve been a champion, and in each of my six years here at CSKA, I have been able to end my season with a win, so being able to do so to end my career is very special,” Langdon said in an interview on the club website. “It’s been an incredible run here, my six years here with CSKA, and something I will never forget.”

Langdon, 35, joined CSKA in 2005 and was one of the team leaders since. He won the Euroleague in his very first season with CSKA, at Prague in 2006, ending the club’s 35-year drought without a continental trophy. They returned to win again in 2008 in Madrid, with Langdon raising the MVP trophy, too, a short time after he had become a father for the first time.