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2013 promises to be an exciting one in the world of professional basketball, with several players facing the possibility of finding new homes.
One of the recurring names mentioned in trade talk is the Cleveland Cavaliers' Anderson Varejao, who currently leads the NBA in rebounding at 14.4 a game.
The 30-year-old Brazilian center is also averaging 14.1 points, 3.4 assists, 1.5 steals and has a PER of 22.2.
His contract is a friendly $17 million for this year and next, with a team option in 2014-15. Since the Cavs are a miserable 7-25, Varejao remains a prime candidate to be dealt.
From Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com:
League sources say Varejao is one of the more talked about trade targets in the league and that there are a number of teams that would move for him. However, Cleveland values him too and unless someone makes a serious offer for Varejao, the Cavs say they don’t have interest in trading him.
This is the same report that's seemingly been out there for years now. The Cavs are thin at center and value Varejao very highly, especially as a role model for players like Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller.
It will be interesting to see if the Cavs keep playing such poor basketball if their asking price for Andy drops.
One person who feels Varejao will get traded this season is Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com:
I think they’ll trade Anderson Varejao at the deadline. Going back to selling high or low, Varejao’s trade value is at an all-time high and the Cavs can add a piece or two (and maybe a draft pick) that will help improve their young core. Varejao isn’t in the team’s long-term plan so it makes sense to trade him for someone that will be.
If the Cavs do decide to deal Varejao this season, the trade deadline would be the wise time to do it.
Teams are usually more desperate to get a deal done around that time and would likely offer more in a potential trade.
The Cavs could very well start a bidding war between contenders, escalating what they could get as opposed to trading Varejao now.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal weighed in on a possible trade partner for the Cavs in a recent article, saying:
It will be difficult for the Cavs to get fair market value for Varejao, particularly since any draft pick they acquire would be low since it would come from a contender. The Oklahoma City Thunder hold the rights to the Toronto Raptors’ first-round pick next summer (top three protected), which should be an appealing pick given the Raptors’ struggles, but the Thunder aren’t pursuing Varejao. He would be deadly playing alongside Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins, but no one polled thought the Thunder would meet the Cavs’ demands — which just might include Ibaka.
As good as Varejao is, it would be hard to picture the Thunder giving up Ibaka, who they drafted and signed to an extension, for him in any deal.
They would likely have to match up salaries in some other way (Nick Collison, Kendrick Perkins) instead of including Ibaka.
For now, Varejao remains very much a mystery as he tried to rehab his way from a knee injury.
With the NBA trade deadline less than two months away, expect the Varejao trade rumors to continue to heat up.
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