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Photo: ESPN
Photo: Sports Illustrated
Photo: Fenerbache.org
Well, last night was electrifying to say the least, so it was natural that tonight would have to bring us Cavalier fans back to Earth. It began with word that the Orlando Magic had made a reactionary move to the Cavaliers' acquisition of Shaq by trading Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie to the Nets for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. Then, the Cavaliers pulled a very Spur-esque move by drafting a foreign player in Christian Eyenga from Congo. They followed that surprise pick up by taking UNC guard/forward Danny Green with their 46th pick. Finally, they capped off the night by acquiring the man selected with the 57th pick from the Phoenix Suns, Slovenian forward Emir Preldzic. Here's my initial reaction, burning the midnight oil.
I was sitting in the Toledo Mud Hens press box, getting fed the picks one-by-one via text and word of mouth for stretches. When I heard Pittsburgh's Sam Young continue to slip and eventually fall past 29, I got excited because I was all but certain that Young was headed for the short hop to C-town. Then, I was told by one of the Mud Hen interns, "I've never heard of this guy, he's from the Congo." Immediately, my jaw dropped and I was glad to be sitting down. I stared at the name Christian Eyenga, and several thoughts swirled through my mind. "Is Ferry huffing glue?", "That's got to be a typo!", and "Maybe Sam Young is from the Congo" were three of those such thoughts.
Basically, Eyenga is "a high-ceiling guy" according to Ferry, and he will likely be left overseas for two or three seasons before he ever dons a wine and gold jersey. At just 20 years old, he comes from the same Euro powerhouse, DKV Joventut, that produced Ricky Rubio, but he was only on their second-tier squad. He is 6'5", but he is incredibly atheltic with a long wingspan and has great defensive ability. The knock on him is basically that he is INCREDIBLY RAW and will need to improve his limited, predictable offensive game. He currently plays both shooting guard and small forward, but he originally was an interior player and is adjusting to handling the ball more and attacking the basket. To say the least, I'm not thrilled about this pick. We'll see if the San Antonio way of doing things gives the Cavaliers a diamond in the rough a few years down the road.
With their second round pick, the Cavaliers went a much more traditional route, selecting an experienced collegiate player in North Carolina guard/forward Danny Green. Green is 6'6" with a 6'10" wingspan, and he was a four year rotation player for the Tar Heels, winning a national championship with NBA Draft picks Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington. I like this pick. I mean I REALLY LIKE this pick. I like it so much that it made me temporarily forget about what's-his-name in the first round. Green is a long wing player that defends incredibly well. Green moves well without the ball, and his mental toughness is a strength after all of the dogfights that Carolina was in during his four years. The drawbacks for him are consistency and diversity in his offensive game. While he thrived in Carolina's system by knocking down open shots, he struggled creating on his own. Essentially, the Cavaliers only wanted one player out of this draft, and Green is that guy. He will make the team, and he could crack the rotation if he has a good camp and preseason, depending on the other moves the Cavaliers make. In the end, I guess they like Green at 46 better than Young or his teammate Dajuan Blair at 30.
After the draft, the Cavaliers made another, lower profile deal with the Phoenix Suns. They bought the rights to the 57th pick, Emir Preldzic. Preldzic is a 6'9" Slovenian who according to Chad Ford "has a great feel for the game". Emir is also supposed to be a solid spot-up shooter out to the three point line. He can actually handle the ball, creating plays in a point forward type role. His negatives are a lack of a true position on the court and he lacks strength with a very thin, fragile frame. He's another project at age 21, so we'll have to wait on him like Eyenga.
And there you have it, the Cavaliers add one player that will probably be on the roster next season in Danny Green and stow away two more projects in Christian Eyenge and Emir Preldzic with which we will have to play the wait-and-see game. They join Ejike Ugboaja and Sasha Kaun as forgotten assets for now. Here's the Cavaliers' roster as it stands right now (assuming they re-sign Varejao).
Starters
Mo Williams - PG
Delonte West - SG
LeBron James - SF
Anderson Varejao - PF
Shaquille O'Neal - C
Bench
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - C
Daniel Gibson - PG/SG
Danny Green - SG/SF
J.J. Hickson - PF/C
Darnell Jackson - PF/C
Tarence Kinsey - SG
Jawad Williams - SF
But, we all know there will be MUCH more to come in the coming weeks!
Kirk
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