The Cavaliers are going all out to try to win a championship next season, before LeBron James can even think about becoming an unrestricted free agent in the magical, mystical summer of 2010. They've already traded for Shaquille O'Neal, and are rumored to have interest in the services of the recently freed Charlie Villanueva.The team's heavy activity this summer would lead you to believe that minutes on the court will be in short supply for Anderson Varejao in the coming season. And that might be a big reason why he opted out of a contract which would have paid him $6.2M, when it's pretty unlikely that any team would offer him much more than that once he hit the open market.
Varejao is known primarily as a flopper -- or, if you're a fan of the team he plays for -- a high-energy, defensive irritant who has a nose for the basketball. Either way, the numbers don't lie. Statistically, 2008-09 was Varejao's best season, where he averaged 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while playing 28.5 minutes a night.
That $6.2M salary figure seems just about right for that level of production, doesn't it? So opting out wasn't about money for Varejao -- at least in the immediate future. It was about securing a deal that has more years on it, before his playing time diminished and he'd be a free agent that no one would care about at the same time that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, etc. all hit the open market.
Varejao might technically be an unrestricted free agent, but all signs point to him returning to the Cavaliers next season.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-01-2009 @ 3:27PM
Josh said...
I see him landing in Milwaukee. With Villanueva seemingly headed to Detroit along with Gordon, they need someone to replace him. And now that they've traded away Jefferson, they need a high energy guy who can be a fan favorite since it's unlikely injury prone Redd can be that guy. Jefferson would have become that guy had they not traded him.
Other than the Birdman, Varejao is pretty much the only player that could be used to pull fans into the stands. And, on top of that, he could get 25-35 minutes a night with the Bucks easily.
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7-01-2009 @ 6:02PM
teknisyan said...
I don't think alot of team will be prying for Varejao, since he's not that big of a scorer and not that great of a defender. All I can see when I watch Cavs with Varejao playing is that all they do is to flop, just to get the ball in their favor!!!
http://teknisyan.blogspot.com
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7-01-2009 @ 7:08PM
FLOW said...
I like Varajeo. Did the Cavs get better by taking on Shaqs 20 mil and not even pursuing Varajeo? A young guy who hustles, comes off the bench, rebounds and si fearless. Could be interesting.
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7-02-2009 @ 4:02AM
Mr.G said...
Yes, the Cavs got better by dumping the corpses of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic on Phoenix,and their combined 20 mil for Shaq.There is absolutely NO doubt about that.The Cavs still very much want to re-sign AV as well,but have had contract problems with Andy and his agent (Fegan) in the past.Andy's opt out doesn't make much sense moneywise because he's just not gonna get a whole lot more,so it looks like he just wants a new 3-5 year contract at close to the same money per year.If he thinks he's gonna get 9 mil from anybody,he's dreamin'.
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