Anderson Varejao Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Green, Varejao, Dawson

February 22nd, 2016 at 3:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers reportedly plans to try to re-sign Jeff Green this summer, and he’s glad to be reunited with his former Celtics player for several reasons. Rivers was effusive in his praise of Green to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, calling him one of the best NBA people ever (Twitter link), and he’s also a fan of what the combo forward can do on the court, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.

“I really wanted more length,” Rivers said of his goals going into the trade deadline, according to Jones. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic, and we need to increase our shooting. And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things. … I thought of all the things that were offered, he was the best available for us.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

The Hawks were among a group of interested teams otherwise composed of the Spurs, Thunder and Mavericks that fell short to the Warriors in the competition for Anderson Varejao, his agency says, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter). The Relativity Sports client is reportedly poised to sign with Golden State, which already released Jason Thompson to clear a roster spot.
The Clippers decided to sign power forward Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract when the market didn’t bear a defensive guard, Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
Branden Dawson, last year’s 56th overall pick, is headed to the D-League affiliate of the Magic on assignment from the Clippers, as the Clippers announced via press release. It’s the fourth time Dawson has gone to the D-League, and the Grand Rapids Drive are the third D-League team to have taken him in. The Clips are without their own affiliate.
Kings affiliate player Vince Hunter left Sacramento’s D-League team to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, the European club announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Kings affiliate received a $45K buyout as part of the move, according to international journalist David Pick (on Twitter).

Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers

February 21st, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.

Central Notes: Pistons, Cavs, Bulls

February 21st, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Pistons have asked for a 24-hour extension of the typical 72-hour trade window to further evaluate Donatas Motiejunas’ back condition, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including Keith Langlois of NBA.com (Twitter link). There is a chance that the trade could be voided, but Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets the possibility of that is “small.” The Pistons’ request has not been approved yet, as David Mayo of MLive points out (on Twitter). The 72-hour window would end tonight and the extension would push that deadline to Monday night. The Pistons acquired Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton from the Rockets as part of a three-team trade Thursday involving the Sixers, despite acknowledging the risk that came with adding Motiejunas because of his persistent back issues. The Pistons have consulted with a back specialist in addition to several doctors, which has contributed to the delay, Beard tweets.

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

The Bulls are currently the front-runners to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, but the way Chicago finishes the season will hold weight, and the center revealed the coaching change from Tom Thibodeau to Fred Hoiberg will also factor into his decision, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times relays.
The Cavs should have retained Anderson Varejao because of his selfless attitude and willingness to accept a diminished role in a quest toward a championship, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines. The Cavs acquired Channing Frye and traded Varejao to the Trail Blazers in a deal that was officially structured as two separate trades. The Blazers then waived Varejao. Haynes wonders if adding Frye significantly improves the Cavs and if his presence was worth moving Varejao, who has played his entire 13-year career in Cleveland.
LeBron James was not consulted by the Cavs front office before Varejao was moved, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. James has referred to Varejao as one of his favorite teammates, as Vardon notes.

Warriors Likely To Sign Anderson Varejao

February 21st, 2016 at 10:22am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors are the favorite to sign Anderson Varejao once he clears waivers later today, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Spurs are still being considered as well, Stein adds in a full length piece.

Golden State is currently carrying 15 players on its roster with each contract being fully guaranteed, so a subsequent move will be needed. The minimum salary for a player with Varejao’s experience is slightly under $1.5MM, and with the team in luxury tax, the cost of acquiring the big man at the minimum would roughly be $4.1MM overall, as Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area New Group tweets.

Golden State and San Antonio are not the only teams with interest in Varejao. The Thunder had interest in the center, as did the Hawks, Clippers and Mavs. The 33-year-old was waived by the Blazers after being acquired in a deadline deal. Varejao didn’t see much action for Cleveland this season, seeing only 10.0 minutes per game. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Eastern Notes: Morris, Frye, Varejao

February 20th, 2016 at 1:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he had no clue that Markieff Morris‘ situation in Phoenix would take the turn that it did when he acquired his twin Marcus Morris this past offseason, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I didn’t have any idea,” Van Gundy said. “We just knew that we liked Marcus. He was a good player, a professional guy, hard worker. We never had any problems from our end with it. I mean, Marcus was upset when it happened, upset at Phoenix, but it never had any effect on what we were doing in Detroit. He was a real professional.”

Markieff intends to approach his new situation with the Wizards the same way, Standing adds. He already has the support of Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, both of whom relayed positive things about Morris, the scribe notes. “You know, it’s just guys that actually know me, and not on the outside looking in,” Morris said. “Guys that I’ve actually played with and been in the locker room with. Things happen. It’s in my past. All I can do is move forward and learn from it. I’m happy to do it. And getting compliments from those guys means a lot. We’re good friends, we keep in touch. They know me as a person.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavaliers were able to land Channing Frye on Thursday despite having less in the way of assets to offer Orlando than the Clippers, who were also interested in the stretch-four, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal notes. Los Angeles backed away from Frye because of the two years and approximately $15MM remaining on his deal, a contract that Cleveland instead views as an asset with the cap set to jump this offseason, Lloyd adds.
The Hawks would be wise to consider signing center Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived after acquiring him from the Cavaliers, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines. Atlanta needs a backup center with Tiago Splitter lost for the remainder of the season, and inking Varejao would carry little risk and wouldn’t impact the franchise’s cap flexibility heading into the offseason, Greene notes.
Despite a somewhat slow start to his NBA career, Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Frank Kaminsky will become a solid starter in the league thanks to how hard he works off the court, Gary D’Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “He has an NBA game right now,” said Clifford. “His biggest issue is he’s physically not strong enough to play every night against the starters. He’s worked hard in the weight room. I think in another year you’ll see him take off because of his work ethic.” The 2015 No. 9 overall pick has appeared in 53 games this season and is averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per night.

Multiple Teams Interested In Anderson Varejao

February 19th, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:45pm: The Spurs and Mavericks are also among the teams interested in Varejao, Stein writes in a full-length story. Dallas is reportedly the frontrunner to sign David Lee once he clears waivers, so it is possible that the Mavs consider Varejao a secondary option, though that is merely my speculation.

6:51pm: The Warriors are among the teams that have expressed interest in signing Varejao once he clears waivers, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

12:18pm: The Thunder have swiftly jumped into the market for Anderson Varejao, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in an appearance with Tony Cartagena on ESPN Cleveland Radio today (audio link; scroll to seven-minute mark). Windhorst also links the Clippers and the Bulls to Varejao, though that appears to be speculative. The Trail Blazers waived Varejao on Thursday after acquiring him via trade from the Cavaliers, who can’t re-sign him for 12 months.

Oklahoma City shed $3.615MM in salary and roughly another $6MM in projected luxury tax penalties thanks to Thursday’s trade to acquire Randy Foye. The Thunder are still well over the tax threshold, but the cost of a prorated minimum-salary contract for Varejao would pale in comparison to what the team would have spent if it hadn’t pulled off the trade with the Nuggets that sent out D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak. Oklahoma City sent an undisclosed amount of cash to Denver in the swap, but it couldn’t have been more than $1.9MM.

The deal also opened a roster spot for the Thunder, so they wouldn’t have to make a corresponding move to add Varejao. The 33-year-old big man must first clear waivers before signing with any team, though that’s likely a formality, given the nearly $10MM in guaranteed salary his contract would entail for next season.

The Thunder have a prorated portion of their $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception that they could use to outbid other suitors, though doing so would cut into the money the team saved in the trade.

Cavs Acquire Frye, Trade Varejao To Blazers

February 18th, 2016 at 11:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kim Klement / USA Today Sports Images

4:52pm: The Cavaliers have acquired Channing Frye and traded Anderson Varejao to the Trail Blazers in a deal that’s officially structured as two separate trades, the Cavs announced via press release. The Blazers and Magic have also formally acknowledged their respective sides of the arrangement. The Cavs sent Varejao and their top-10 protected 2018 first-round pick to the Trail Blazers for their own 2020 second-round pick, which Cleveland had relinquished to Portland in a previous trade. Cleveland then sent it to the Magic, without protection, along with Jared Cunningham, for Frye. The Blazers subsequently waived Varejao, and John Denton of Magic.com confirms an initial report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that the Magic will waive Cunningham (Twitter link).

The Cavs hadn’t been optimistic about landing Frye, believing the Clippers would outbid them, notes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (on Twitter), but L.A. wouldn’t bite on a reported proposal that reportedly involved Lance Stephenson and C.J. Wilcox. The Magic had been trying to trade Frye, according to an earlier report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who suggested the effort to find a taker for the 32-year-old would accelerate once the team traded Tobias Harris, Frye’s cousin. Frye has two years and nearly $15.228MM left on his contract after this season.

“Channing Frye is someone we know well. His length, floor spacing ability and locker room presence will impact us positively,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the team’s statement. “He is a great fit with our group, both on the court and off, and we look forward to Channing, his wife Lauren, and their children, Hendrix and Margaux joining us here in Cleveland.”

The 32-year-old Frye has long been a prototypical floor-stretching big man, nailing 39.7% of his 3-pointers this season and 38.7% for his career. He averaged 17.1 minutes per game this season in Orlando, the second fewest of his career but more than Varejao, who saw 10.0 minutes per game this year in Cleveland, where he’s spent all of his 12 NBA seasons. The longtime confidant of LeBron James, who entered the league the same year Varejao did, saw his playing time slashed to new lows this season as he returned from an injury that prematurely ended last season for him.

“Anderson is a special player, teammate and person,” Griffin said. “Few players have earned the respect, support and admiration of an entire organization, fan base and community as Andy did here. Those are all things that made this a difficult deal to do. At the same time, we have a deep obligation to do whatever we can to reach our ultimate goal and we believe this was a deal that improves our team now and positions us better in the future as well. We thank Andy for his hard work, dedication and contributions to the Cavaliers and our community and wish him and his wife, Marcelle, the very, very best.”

The Cavs reportedly offered Varejao for Frye to the Magic, who were reluctant, but the Cavs insisted that they be able to offload Varejao somehow if they were to come away with Frye, wary of the tax implications of having both on the roster. Thus, the Blazers came into the picture, absorbing Varejao into their ample cap space and turning a second-rounder into a first for their trouble. Varejao has close to $10MM in guaranteed salary for after this season remaining on the extension he signed with the Cavaliers in 2014.

“This was an opportunistic way to use our cap room to acquire a valuable asset,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said.

The pair of swaps save the Cavaliers an estimated $10MM in combined salary and projected luxury tax penalties, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link). Frye makes $8,193,029 this season, while Varejao has a $9,638,554 salary that increases slightly thanks to a 5% trade kicker. Cunningham makes the three-year veteran’s minimum salary of $981,348 but only costs $947,276, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum, to the Magic because he is on a one-year deal. Orlando will be stuck with that figure on its books, though that’s scarcely burdensome, since the subtraction of Frye takes the Magic significantly below the salary cap.

It’s somewhat surprising that Orlando isn’t keeping Cunningham, the 24th overall pick from 2012 whose NBA career was in jeopardy before a strong preseason performance in which he averaged 12.4 points per game allowed him to make Cleveland’s opening-night roster on what was initially a non-guaranteed deal. He forged a close kinship with LeBron. Regardless, neither he nor Varejao will be allowed to rejoin Cleveland this season even if they clear waivers and become free agents.

The Cavaliers used their $10,522,500 Brendan Haywood trade exception to accommodate the Frye trade, reducing its value to $2,329,471. The Varejao trade allows them to create a new sizable trade exception, worth $9,638,554, that won’t expire for another year. Offloading Cunningham allows the Cavs another new trade exception, worth $947,276.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News first reported the Cavs would acquire Frye from the Magic (Twitter link). Sam Amick of USA Today had news of Varejao going to the Blazers (Twitter link), while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported that the Blazers would waive him (Twitter link). USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt heard Cunningham was going to Orlando (Twitter link), while Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relayed that he’d also be waived (Twitter link). McMenamin had word that the first-rounder was going to Portland (Twitter link), and Eric Gunderson of The Columbian heard that the first-rounder headed to Portland was top-10 protected (Twitter link). Spears reported the Magic would get a second-round pick (Twitter link). RealGM shows it’s Cleveland’s own 2020 pick and unprotected, and also confirms that the 2018 first-rounder going to Portland is Cleveland’s own.

Blazers Waive Tim Frazier, Anderson Varejao

February 18th, 2016 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:00pm: Portland has waived Varejao, the team announced (on Twitter).

3:38pm: Frazier has officially been waived, the Trail Blazers announced.

12:29pm: The Trail Blazers will waive Tim Frazier to accommodate the trade acquisition of Anderson Varejao, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), and likely waive Varejao once the trade goes through, according to Vertical colleague Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter).

Frazier, 25, is earning $845,059 this season, the remainder of which Portland will still be on the hook for. The point guard has appeared in 35 games for the Blazers this season, including one start. He averaged 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 7.8 minutes per contest.

Originally inked as an unrestricted free agent last March, Frazier posted averages of 1.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 8.5 minutes in parts of two seasons with the Trail Blazers.

Cavs Expected To Keep Love, Shumpert, Varejao

February 17th, 2016 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite a flurry of last-minute trade rumors, the most likely outcome is that Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and Anderson Varejao all stay with Cleveland past the deadline, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Lloyd adds that a minor deal is possible to improve the back end of the Cavs’ rotation.

That would be a blow to the Celtics’ dreams of adding Love in a rumored three-way deal with the Pelicans. It would also mean that Varejao isn’t headed to Orlando in exchange for Channing Frye, perhaps clearing the way for the Magic to ship Frye to the Clippers.

Lloyd writes that the Cavaliers want to take another shot at winning a title with Love and are reluctant to give up Shumpert, who is the team’s best perimeter defender. They have been trying for most of the season to find a taker for Varejao, who still has two years and nearly $19MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract, but have been turned down repeatedly.

Lloyd confirms Cleveland’s interest in Frye, who spent time with Cavs GM David Griffin in Phoenix, but the writer believes other teams can put together better offers. The Cavaliers also have payroll concerns, already facing about $170MM in salary and luxury tax penalties.

Cavaliers Consider Trading Anderson Varejao

February 17th, 2016 at 9:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:43pm: The Magic aren’t interested in taking on Varejao’s contract, but they are thinking about sending Frye to Cleveland for a trade exception, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The Cavaliers have a $10.5MM exception — enough to absorb Frye’s $8.2MM salary — they got from trading Brendan Haywood to the Blazers last summer. However, the Cavs don’t want to add Frye unless they can offload Varejao somehow, Wojnarowski writes.

Orlando is growing tired of waiting for a decision from the Clippers, who say they need until Thursday morning to decide whether to give up Lance Stephenson, C.J. Wilcox and a second-round pick in exchange for Frye, Wojnarowski reports.

Varejao still has two years and nearly $19MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract. Wojnarowski confirms that Cleveland is looking for a teams with cap space like Philadelphia or Portland to take Varejao in a three-team deal. The third team could expect to get cash and draft picks in return. If the Cavaliers were to take on Frye’s contract without getting rid of Varejao’s, it would push their estimated luxury tax bill from $61MM to nearly $96MM.

L.A. has been looking at other trades to get rid of Stephenson’s contract, which pays him $9MM this year and $9.4MM next season, Wojnarowski reports. If the Orlando deal goes through, the Magic are expected to waive or trade him.

7:04pm: The Magic don’t plan to accept Cleveland’s offer of Varejao for Frye, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

6:17pm: Cleveland has offered Varejao to Orlando in exchange for stretch four Channing Frye, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Cavaliers are hoping to trump reported trade talks between the Magic and Clippers.

4:17pm: The Cavaliers are considering a deal involving veteran power forward Anderson Varejao, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. He mentions the Blazers and Sixers as possible trade partners.

Varejao has been with Cleveland for his entire 12-year NBA career. He has appeared in just 31 games this season and is averaging 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time.

Varejao is signed through the 2017/18 season. He makes $9,638,554 this year and is due to get $10,361,446 in 2016/17, but only $9,361,446 of that is guaranteed. His $10MM salary for 2017/18 is non-guaranteed, but he will receive a $4.5MM guarantee if he is on a roster through August 1st of next year. Varejao’s contract includes a 5% trade kicker.

A Varejao deal could be connected to a rumored swap for the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson that Isola also reported. Only the Blazers have enough cap room to take on Varejao without worrying about the league’s salary-matching rules.