Cavaliers First-Round Pick Christian Eyenga Signs Three-Year Deal With Spain’s DKV Joventut

As expected when he was drafted last month, Cavaliers first-round pick Christian Eyenga will be playing overseas for DKV Joventut of Spain next year — and probably longer. 

This was an expected move by Eyenga until some unexpected twists threw a wrench into the whole situation surrounding him. GM Danny Ferry took a raw Eyenga with a selection that nobody saw coming. This came despite the fact that guys believed to be more “NBA ready” like Pittsburgh’s Sam Young and DeJuan Blair were still on the board. And Ferry had his reasons.

The main reason was to avoid having a guaranteed contract for a first-round pick on next year’s payroll, maybe even the 2010-11 payroll as well. That would have been accomplished by stashing Eyenga overseas, as was the plan, for a year or two until he was ready to compete at the NBA level.

Another reason was that Ferry pretty much got the same player at pick #46 — Danny Green — as he would have with Young. There was much talk going into the draft that the class was so weak that there was virtually no difference between guys drafted in the 20’s and guys drafted in the 40’s. Had Young or even Blair been available at 46, then maybe one of them would be a Cav, instead. But having a similar player at a non-guaranteed contract was the objective here.

As for Blair, remember: The Spurs got him as a second-round pick, meaning a non-guaranteed contract for the former Pitt Panther. Too many teams were concerned about his knees and size to take a gamble on him with a guaranteed contract as a first-round pick. The Cavs themselves had two project big men in J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson, as well.

I don’t know if I agree with it, but that does seem like what the Cavs were trying to do.

So it should come as no surprise that Eyenga signed a three-year deal to play in Spain. Reports indicated that the Cavs wanted to sign him and put him in the NBDL after his surprising Summer League results. It is definitely surprising that Eyenga didn’t take the guaranteed two years at about $2 million, but it would be ideal to hold judgement until we find out the specifics of his deal and opt-out amount with DKV Joventut.

NBA teams can contribute up to $500,000 for buyouts on overseas contracts. A higher buyout usually means a higher salary, so if Eyenga’s salary for the next few years in Spain trumps what the Cavs could have given him, then it is possible that the buyout amount could be huge.

Regardless, even at the end of three years, the Cavs would still have Eyenga’s rights, and he would still be just 23 years old going into the 2012-13 season. Guys like Anthony Parker and (knock on wood) Jamario Moon would be keeping the seat warm for him until he comes back.

In the end, selecting Eyenga was never meant to be a move to contribute to the 2009-10 season, anyways. It probably wasn’t even meant to contribute to 2010-11, either. And the Cavs will continue to have Eyenga’s rights if and when he is ready to compete in the NBA.