Cleveland Cavaliers: Don't Expect Anderson Varejao To Return As A Free Agent

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to add to their roster, but one familiar face does not appear to be a fit this season.

We have all heard and read about the various rumors regarding the Cleveland Cavaliers and options they could be trading for prior to the trade deadline. The most intriguing and interesting of the bunch has been New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.

Acquiring Anthony will be a tough goal to accomplish if Cleveland really wanted to because of salaries. However, a much easier acquisition could be signing veteran center Anderson Varejao, but that is still no guarantee.

He was recently waived by Golden State Warriors. Cleveland is exploring many options at the point guard, small forward, and center positions, but Amico Hoops founder and Cavs insider for Fox Sports Ohio Sam Amico is not believing there will be interest in Varejao.

"It seems doubtful. He was hurt. And he may not want to return, even if he gets a chance. Plus, he did also happen to sign with the Cavs’ top rival after the Trail Blazers waived him."

He was dealt to Portland last season in the three team traded that landed power forward/center Channing Frye with the Cavs. Varejao in turn, was waived by the Trail Blazers who then ended up with Golden State.

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Varejao getting dealt last season was not the first time he had to deal with that. In fact, he originally was a draft pick of the Orlando Magic before being traded to Cleveland back in 2004.

I completely agree with Amico. Varejao has been a shell of himself for multiple seasons now. Even if Cleveland did have interest in a reunion, Varejao would not be able to contribute much on a nightly basis.

This season, Varejao has played in 14 games where he averaged 6.6 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. In 2015-16 with both the Cavaliers and Warriors, Varejao played in 53 games. During that time, he averaged 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.4 minutes/game.

It would be nice for the two parties to reunite again. However, given Varejao’s ability now, it simply does not make sense.

In the coming weeks, Cleveland will acquire at least one more player, but my expectation is that there will be multiple new faces on the Cavs’ roster by the end of the month.

Next: 3 Concerning January Stats

There is not a wrong way in acquiring such talent. Cleveland greatly needs help coming off of their bench. There are quality players that can be signed, so even if no trade is made, an upgrades can still happen.

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Cleveland Cavaliers: Don’t Expect Anderson Varejao To Return As A Free Agent

By Ryan Rosko | Feb 7, 2017

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to add to their roster, but one familiar face does not appear to be a fit this season.

More from Factory of Sadness