[thetruthParticipant]

hes young and raw, but a freakish athlete. he reminds me alot of air france . but anyway i think it will take a few years for him to develop . but i can see him ending up a steal in this draft.

[gedrosolanParticipant]

i thought it was really sad at the draft how nobody applauded when he got up on stage to take his pic with stern. i mean, come on people, he was just drafted and he’s right in front of you, at least act happy for him!

[auberParticipant]

You have to look at it from a Cleveland stand point. You needed to put some offensive help around James and this guy clearly isn’t going to have James when he makes it in this league. Bad move by Cleveland.

[13kavak]

especially with the players that had fallen blair james and shaq great front court. eyenga will be looked back on in a few years and everyone will ask the same question they do now WHO?

[13kavak]

african guard drafted as well

[JNixonParticipant]

It was a bad pick, especially with Sam Young and DaJuan Summers on the board. But I do like Eyenga’s talent, he is a great athlete and can shoot it better than most people think. He just isnt a smart player yet, and he cant dribble or defend other than blocking shots from what I saw that one game I watched. But he wouldnt have gotten drafted so they couldve picked him up after the draft

[storm33Participant]

OMG, terrible pick. Eyenga wasn’t even projected as a draft pick, let alone a first rounder. If Cleveland really wanted a quality international player, they could’ve chosen Jonas Jerebko, More importantly, they passed up much superior players like Dejuan Blair, Chase Budinger, Dajuan Summers, Sam Young, Marcus Thornton, and Nick Calathes.

[gatorheelsParticipant]

It wasn’t a terrible pick. Eyenga has more potential than any player left on the board at the time. He is super young and real ahtletic. It was worth a shot. Budinger & Summers are both going to be busts. Young or Blair could’ve helped the Cavs now but I don’t think either of them would make the difference in winning a championship or not winning one. Eyenga was projected to be drafted by the way. I had him going 47th in my mock draft.

[JNixonParticipant]

You dont think Sam Young or DaJuan Blair wouldve made a difference in a championship but Eyenga does? It was a bad pick, he wont contribute for at least 4 years, and by then his contract will expire

[HaleParticipant]

Summers will not be a bust, he can shoot it and he can play the 3 and the 4. He will be a solid player for awhile. He is a poor mans Jeff Green, I believe they were teammates too.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

I think Cleveland went upside….people forget players around LBJ have no pressure..

[gatorheelsParticipant]

iguodala- I didn’t say Eyenga makes a difference. Eyenga has WAY more upside than Sam Young.

yupyup- I think Summers is a bust. He is a very poor mans Jeff Green. Summers showed me nothing at Georgetown. He has nba body which made him an intriguing prospect but his skills and more importantly decision making is lacking. Plus for his size he is a very weak rebounder and he had way more turnovers than assists.

[HaleParticipant]

I guess we will find out, I think he will be a slid rotation guy for a long time.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

He will be a guy who will get like tip in dunks and super athletic plays…

[JNixonParticipant]

They shouldve gotten Young. But they didnt so, I think he could develop into a Mikael Pietrus best case, but worst case I think he will be Diawara. Diawara seems more likely.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

Young or Budinger

[gatorheelsParticipant]

I had them picking Sam Young in my mock draft…that was the logical move. They are just trying to outsmart everybody thinking Eyenga was the gem in the draft. Overall not a bad pick but not great either.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

I still think they need to add a wing player….Eyenga will be a d-league until like the final quarter of the season,

[gatorheelsParticipant]

Yeah Cleveland needs a long wing player that can defend multiple positions to take some pressure of LeBron. Maybe they can find one cheap in free agency….Ron Artest or Shawn Marion would be great but they are both too expensive more than likely. Desmond Mason could be an interesting option.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

I was thinking Gerald Green

[gatorheelsParticipant]

Can Gerald Green play defense? if he can then that is a good option. I know he is super athletic.

[Knicksboy34Participant]

I think he just wanna play…he’s one of those guys who if you just trust…..he will pay off. I never understood why Boston played him and then sent him to the NBDL for no reason….

[JNixonParticipant]

Gerald Green doesnt defend. Desmond mason would be a great pickup for them, they would just have to tell him not to shoot, ever.

[CavsDawgParticipant]

wait, how exactly is this a bad pick?

quick, name me the last guy picked 30th that actually made an impact his rookie year? give up? figured because none of them have.

Sam Young or DeJuan Blair would’ve helped immediately? how so? DeJuan Blair as a rookie is no better than Darnell Jackson as a 2nd year player in the league. it would be a downgrade for this year. also, the dude doesn’t have an ACL in either of his knees, you can say “Danny Granger blah blah blah” all you want but Danny Granger has ACLs. and Sam Young? 24 year old with good athleticism but not a great defender and not a great shooter? in no way, shape or form is Sam Young better than Daniel Gibson or Delonte West so there’s pretty much all of the 2 guard minutes and Wally will likely be back so there’s your SF back-up minutes.

Sam Young or DeJuan blair WOULD NOT have helped. why would we take Sam Young when the guy has almost reached his full potential already? he’s a career back-up at best.

Now here’s your reason for drafting Christian Eyenga. The kid has every physical tool you need to be a starter at the NBA level. at 6’6 210 he’s already got the body size to play in the league, he’s a solid defender, amazing leaping ability(they said he slapped the top of the back board off a couple steps, we’re talking about Lebron, Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson verticals), he’s got a great work ethic, and has improved leaps and bounds in the 2 years he’s been overseas.

he WILL NOT take 4 years to develop, he’s already been in Cleveland and worked out and impressed all the coaches and staff. He won’t be here next year but they said there’s a decent chance he could end up in Cleveland next season, definitely the 3rd season at the latest.

Now to clear some clouds about Christian Eyenga. First of all, the kid was in New York for a specific reason, and it wasn’t because Cleveland promised to take him. His agents are guys who already have NBA players and other overseas players on board, they knew something was up. he wasn’t there “hoping” he’d get drafted, some team gave him a promise. if you don’t expect to get drafted, you don’t show up to the draft, especially if you’re a foreign player. If Cleveland didn’t pick Eyenga, he would’ve gone to a team that picked in the 30s, my thoughts were Portland or San Antonio had him targetted because those are the 2 teams that work the “pick and stash” method often, maybe even oklahoma city because of the Sam Presti-San Antonio connection.

Danny Ferry had Eyenga targeted with the 46th pick, but when he found out that Eyenga was actually in the MSG for the draft, he thought something was fishy and knew he wouldn’t have Eyenga as an option at 46.

On top of that, Juventut was being very secretive with Eyenga. They were not letting him work out a lot and kept him hidden from a lot of the US scouts for financial reasons(bigger buy out if he hadn’t gotten drafted yet).

All I can truly say is that there was a team that was really not happy that Cleveland took Eyenga with the 30th pick, that is from inside information in the Cavs organization

[JNixonParticipant]

There have been a few last picks of the 1st round that have been immediate good players. Josh Howard and, too a lesser extent David Lee. And just because he impressed coaches doesnt mean he will contribute, all coaches are impressed in some way with the players on their roster.

[CavsDawgParticipant]

josh howard averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds, that’s not “immediate good” and David Lee averaged 5 and 5.

thats hardly a good player, not to mention Josh Howard had an upside when he was drafted, Sam Young won’t ever be much better than he is now.

you just compared apples and oranges when you tried comparing Sam Young to Lee and howard

[Knicksboy34Participant]

Josh Howard fell because he had limited upside…what are you talking about? Doesnt matter, Eyenga will be a high energy, defender and 9-15ppg type scorer in his prime

[auberParticipant]

Dajaun Summers is a Homeless Caron Butler

[JNixonParticipant]

I didnt compare Sam Young to David Lee or Josh Howard. I said they both were rotation players and had impacts on games as last-pick-of-the-1st-round rookies. You have to look beyond stats on both players. Howard is the best, most consistent player the Mavs have. And David Lee was the best player on the Knicks last season and neither really set the world on fire with their stats.

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