CLEVELAND (AP) — Just before taking the floor for his first NBA summer league practice, rookie guard Dajuan Wagner signed his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Wagner, the No. 6 overall pick in last month’s NBA draft, will make $2.3 million next season and $10.7 million over four years — per terms of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
“We are delighted that Dajuan has signed his contract with the Cavs,” said general manager Jim Paxson. “We are thrilled that he will participate on our summer league team and that he will get a head start working with our coaching staff.”
Wagner left Memphis after just one season, and the Cavs are hoping the 6-2, 200-pounder can score for them like he has throughout his career.
During his freshman year, Wagner set a school single-season scoring record, averaged 21.2 points per game and was named Conference USA’s top first-year player. During his senior season in high school in Camden, N.J., Wagner scored 100 points in a game.
The Cavs hope to team Wagner in their starting backcourt with point guard Andre Miller, who has been the subject of trade rumors for months.
Cleveland came close to making a multi-player deal on draft day with the Los Angeles Clippers for Miller, who led the NBA in assists last season.
Miller is eligible for a contract extension this summer and has told the Cavs he wants the maximum. Meanwhile, Cavs owner Gordon Gund again denied reports that he is selling the team.
During a charity golf tournament on Monday that benefits the blind, Gund, who is blind, said he has no immediate plans to sell the team but didn’t rule out accepting offers.
“I don’t have any intention to sell the team,” Gund told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I have said right along that any business that I have is at some price for sale, and so are the Cavs. But I’m not stripping the team to sell it.” Gund said that even if he does sell the team in the future, he is committed to keeping the franchise in Cleveland.
“Anybody who might eventually buy it from me, is going to have to keep it here,” Gund said. “I would not sell it to anyone I was aware might move it.”
