May 23, 2013

Christian Eyenga Tweets During Game, Suffers “Toe Laceration”

March 1, 2012 by 19 Comments

Cavaliers forward Christian Eyenga sent the tweet above at 8:44pm while his team was playing a contest in Madison Square Garden. Though no injury update was given prior to Wednesday night’s loss to the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers swingman apparently did not travel with the team due to what is being called a “toe laceration” that received multiple stitches.

The Cavaliers state that the injury occurred prior to their three-point loss to the Boston Celtics, but made no mention of the injury until the latter portion of the back-to-back slate had been completed. Several injury-related inquiries were made throughout the week, but all replies surrounded the return of shooting guard Anthony Parker who returned after missing several games due to back tightness.

Adding to the bizarre level of timing and specifics of this injury is the fact that Eyenga appears to have sent said tweet (pictured above) during the middle of the Knicks game, stating that he can “see” the individual despite reportedly not even being in the building with his teammates. Naturally, “seeing” may not be literal, but the team did not make anyone aware of his absence prior to the tweet being published, causing plenty of overnight speculation.

The Cavaliers do not have a practice scheduled for Thursday, typical procedure following back-to-back games, so there will likely not be any additional clarification on the timeline of events until Friday morning’s shootaround. They are typically very forthcoming with injury updates, especially those that hinder travel, so this late-night update will undoubtedly be a item of interest as the team prepares for their contest against the Chicago Bulls.

The team states that Eyenga slipped and cut his toe on a metal door within the Cavaliers’ locker room. They also say that the timing of their release was not impacted by Eyenga’s tweet. He was allegedly going to be inactive for both contests.

While Eyenga’s athleticism has never been a question, the high-flying swingman has not shown much development since joining the Cavaliers last season. Often chastised for lapses on both ends of the floor, an issue like this will only add to the criticism surrounding the mental aspects of his game. Eyenga started the season in Canton with the Cavaliers’ D-League affiliate. Since being called up, the former first-round draft pick has appeared in only six contests, averaging 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds.

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  • Boomhauertjs

    The emergence of Gee has made the Eyenga bust a little easier to take.

  • Natedawg86

    How do you get a toe laceration in basketball? 

  • Natedawg86

    Maybe his english is that bad.

  • porkchpxprss

    I don’t know if you can call a guy taken in the 2nd round primarily because he could be stashed overseas and not further cripple cap space a bust. 

    Across any sport you can poke, prod, interrogate, and evaluate athletes till the cows come home, but there is no way you can know how they are going to change when they get a few phat paychecks in their account.

  • Boomhauertjs

    He was a 1st round pick (end of the round) and was taken over several guys who’ve turned out to be solid NBA players: Dante Cunningham, DeJuan Blair, Jonas Jerebko, Jodi Meeks, Marcus Thornton, and Chase Budinger, among others. I know Ferry was trying to emulate the Spurs by taking a foreign guy and waiting for him to develop, but it sure looks like Eyenga is going to play himself out of the league pretty quickly. In my book, he’s a bust.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Andrew Schnitkey

    Eyenga was actually a 1st round pick. And, in my opinion, he is a bust because at a time when the Cavaliers needed to take a chance on someone who could help immediately while LeBron was still in town, they went off the chart and took a project most teams wouldn’t have even drafted in the 2nd round.

    I never liked the Eyenga pick. I didn’t like it at the time, and I still don’t like it. I know the odds of the 30th pick in the draft being a player who can earn regular playing time are slim, but look at Daniel Gibson. He was a 2nd round pick who worked his way into the rotation and made a huge impact on the team in the playoffs, even if only for that one game. 

    I just wish the Cavs would have taken a player who had a legit chance to possibly make it in the NBA instead of a freak athlete who never really demonstrated any real basketball skills. Even if he wouldn’t have been ready to help while LeBron was in town, he might be helping the team today when it’s so painfully clear how little talent this team has. 

  • http://twitter.com/CTownPride Steve J

    “Adding to the bizarre level of timing and specifics of this injury is
    the fact that Eyenga appears to have sent a tweet (pictured above)
    during the middle of the Knicks game, stating that he can “see” the
    individual despite reportedly not even being in the building with his
    teammates. Naturally, “seeing” may not be literal.”

    It’s most likely not literal.  “I see you” is an expression acknowledging someone who has done something attention-worthy – usually the manner in which they dress or an action they commit.  The woman includes a picture of herself at the game, which is the likely source of the response, “I see u.”  Also, he says “have fun at the game,” implying he isn’t there himself.

    And with that, I give you the most unnecessary tweet breakdown in history. 

  • porkchpxprss

    Well you got me there, the gulf between last pick in the 1st round and 1st pick in the second round is immense. 
    I think almost by any definition he can’t be a bust, because thats infers he didn’t live up to the performance level of those picked around him. 
    I can’t argue that Dejuan Blair, or Buddigner would have been better (although you have to wonder if we get the 1st pick in last years draft with even smidge more talent)  but I’m really pretty sure the specific reason the Cavs took Eyenga was that he wouldn’t count on the salary cap that year which for some reason would have made trades more problematic.  Essentially they didn’t feel that a Dejuan Blair would be ready to help in the playoffs as much as a Jamison.
    I don’t disagree its disapointing that a kid essentially pulled off the streets of hasn’t progressed, but bust should be a hallowed term, pick 30 is a bust what does that make, Oden, Darko, Kwame, etc?

  • Boomhauertjs

    They would’ve gotten the 1st pick because it was the Clippers pick and they probably could have gotten Thompson lower than they did since most draft experts thought they reached a little on him.
    You are right about them taking Eyenga to avoid clogging the cap, but that player could also have been used in trades. Guys on rookie contracts are valuable trade pieces because they’re cheap.

  • porkchpxprss

    Again, I fully apologize to you both for confusing the last pick in the 1st round.  I have poured over stats for players chosen last in the first round and first in the second round and the stunning success that pick 30 has compared to 31 completely invalidates my argument that bust is too strong a term for a draft slot that produces a greater than 50% washout rate within two years of picking.

    Just to keep laboring the point, and I guess this is why I think I’m right even though I’m wrong, 1st round money is guaranteed, second is not, which again is why I believe they got a player that would not count on the cap that year.  I don’t think anyone in the organization were pinning there hopes on Eyenga for much of anything.

  • JeBronLames

    I guess it’s better than having a herniated “dick”.

  • Ritz

    While he is a bust, doing what the Cavs did (selecting a player overseas and hoping to strike gold) is common at the end of the first round and in the second round. NBA drafts are rarely deeper than about 25 solid players so it is very acceptable to take a flyer late. One cannot expect even the best of GMs to hit on all those. You mention the Spurs – while they do it a lot and it has worked out, they have also swung and missed – it comes with the territory of late in the NBA st round and early in the second.

  • BenRM

    Who cares if he sent it during the game? He does not play anyway, so he may as well keep himself otherwise occupied.

    Seriously, though, what a terrible pick this was. Way too “San Antonio Spurs.”

  • BenRM

    I think the bigger point is that he shouldn’t have been drafted at all. He was not on anyone’s radar and would not have been.

    1st or 2nd round notwithstanding, it would have been nice to see the Cavs roll the dice on someone who mattered instead of throwing the dice over the Atlantic and hoping they landed somewhere in the Congo. 

  • porkchpxprss

    If Back to the Future has taught us anything its that any change in the timeline causes all things to change.  Perhaps it still works out that way, or perhaps having Buddinger or Blair convinces Gilbert that they are still close enough to make a run, or like I said we win a few more games and that 4th pick becomes a 10-12, maybe you are right and TT is still there maybe not, or since Bud and Blair aren’t on the Rockets/Spurs it changes their plans and one of them makes a move for B Davis.  Just saying there are an infinite number of variables to simply proclaim we end up exactly where we did. 

    That being said, I really do see your point now about some of those players and how Ferry could have been creative, found a place to stash them for that year and we’d probably be better off from an overall talent standpoint.  Not that I’d give up a talent like Omri Casspi for Chase (eye roll)

  • Harv 21

    Thank you, Eyenga, and congratulations. You, the last man on the bench, have managed to temporarily divert the attention of WFNY groupies from the most important issue ever in Cleveland sports, this year’s draft – well, at least since last year’s draft, and until next year’s- and the single biggest decision any Cleveland FO will ever ever ever have to make.

    Tweet on, my friend. And, by the way, do you think RG III is worth more than our #4 and #22?   

  • The_Real_Shamrock

    Count me in the group who didn’t like his being drafted either.  On the other hand after OOgling I mean Googling this young lady I have to admire Eyenga’s taste.  Hopefully this goes better then his professional basketball career. 

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Andrew Schnitkey

    The reason I pointed out that he was a 1st round pick was because 1st round picks get guaranteed contracts. It’s why he continues to receive guaranteed money from the Cavs to this day. 

  • http://www.injuredoverseas.com/defense-base-act-attorney-overview.php Allan Kenan

    That’s a disappointing incident. And the worst thing is that it happened in the locker room, and wasn’t in a basketball game. This might be a big lost for the Cavs. Eyenga provides athleticism and hustle on the court. Although, those don’t show in the stat sheet, he can provide energy on both ends of the court.