Christian eyenga

When the Cavs drafted Christian Eyenga from the Congo with the 30th pick in the draft, it left me speechless. Eyenga isn’t even expected to play with the Cavs this season, as he is only 20 years old and was playing second division basketball in Europe. The only reason that makes sense is the Cavs didn’t think anyone left in the draft could help them — and wanted to save salary-cap space for veteran free agents.

Nonetheless, it seemed someone such as Pitt forwards Sam Young or DeJuan Blair could have helped, at least a little bit. Or maybe Xavier’s Derrick Brown. It just seemed like an odd choice.

While Shaquille O’Neal is probably the most important piece the Cavs will add this summer, they know they need another big man and at least one experienced wing player. Retaining Anderson Varejao will be a major off-season priority because the Cavs desperately need a young, mobile big man to help defend pick-and-rolls and bring energy off the bench. But they do need so much more.

Rasheed Wallace is a free agent, and the Cavs had interest in him before the O’Neal deal. Hard to know if they still do. They like Wallace as a big man who can shoot from the outside, but it’s hard to see how he’d help their defense on those pick-and-rolls. Also, LeBron James, O’Neal and Wallace in the same dressing room? That may be a bit much.

When it comes to free agents,keep an eye on Matt Barnes. The 6-7 veteran averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds for Phoenix, starting 40 out of 77 games. He shot 42 percent from the field, 34 percent on 3-pointers. He is a gifted athlete and might be able to help the Cavs with their perimeter defense, especially if the Cavs can’t sign free agent Anthony Parker — a player they have liked for years.

The problem with Barnes is he has spent the past three years in Golden State and Phoenix where defense is a rumor, so he’ll have to be reprogrammed a bit. Orlando had to do the same thing with Mickael Pietrus, who came from the Warriors and needed to develop a defensive mindset. By the end of the season, Pietrus was a major factor on defense. Barnes actually began his pro career with the Cavs as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2003, but they cut him. It took Barnes a few years to establish himself in the NBA.

Parker has been mentioned several times in connection with the Cavs. General Manager Danny Ferry tried to sign him when he left Europe, but Parker signed with Toronto instead. He is now 33, and averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and shot 42 percent from the field last season. My guess is the Cavs end up with either Barnes or Parker.

Part of the deal where the Cavs sent their second-rounder in 2010 to the Suns for O’Neal is the pick remains with the Cavs if it’s in the top 10. Then the Suns have to wait until 2011.

Lost in all the news about the O’Neal trade is Orlando will probably not have free agent Hedo Hedu Turkoglu back next season. The Magic traded Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee to New Jersey for Vince Carter and forward Ryan Anderson. Clearly, Carter will take the place of Turkoglu. Does that make the Magic better? Probably not. Carter is 32. While he averaged 20 points, he has tormented the Cavs as Turkoglu did in the Eastern Conference finals.

When the Cavs faced Vince Carter in the 2007 Eastern Conference semifinals, he averaged 19.5 points, but shot only 36 percent. In the last two games of the series, he averaged only 11.5 points. Carter battled some minor injuries in that series, but he is not nearly as scary as Turkoglu in clutch time. Turkoglu averaged 17.2 points in the Cavs series, shooting 39 percent from the field and on 3-pointers. He hurt the Cavs with his ballhandling (6.7 assists), rebounding (6.3) and was a tough cover in pick-and-roll situations with Rashard Lewis. He’s 6-10 with point-guard skills, and the Magic will miss him.