NBA Trade Season: Seven Possible Anderson Varejao Trades for the Cleveland Cavaliers

So here we go, and these are not necessarily in order of the most feasible or ones I would be most happy doing. I will admit I am not as creative as some other people so there aren't a ton of 3-teamers. Obviously in the comments if you guys come up with some other ideas, go right ahead.

Houston - Rockets send Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones and an unprotected 2015 first round draft pick to Cleveland for Anderson Varejao.

Why it works for Houston - They have their star in Harden, and another pick and roll guy in Jeremy Lin. Adding a credible guy to finish inside would be incredibly helpful for their offense. They still have cap space over the next two offseasons adding Andy, and they can build on a core of Lin, Harden, Varejao, and Asik. Carlos Delfino would slide into their starting SF spot, where he hasn't been terrible. They owe their first round pick this year to Atlanta, but its first round protected. In other words, they don't really want to start winning until next year. Adding a lottery pick to that core, with their cap space, is pretty intriguing.

Why it works for the Cavaliers - Houston doesn't really have a 1st Round pick to give up for awhile, so that is less fun for Cavaliers fans, but they would be adding two young players on excellent contracts who could end up being pretty darn good players. Parsons is on a 3 year deal that pays him less than a million dollars a season and would represent a major upgrade over Alonzo Gee. He isn't a great shooter, but he has improved tremendously in a short time, and he projects as a good defender as well. He is a great rebounder at SF.

Ultimate verdict: Cavs fans probably won't think this is enough, but I would strongly consider it. A possible fix at SF, and I am pretty high on Terrence Jones as well.

Boston - Boston sends Jared Sullinger Courtney Lee, Jason Collins and their 2013 1st Round Draft pick for Anderson Varejao

Why it works for Boston - Varejao represents a huge upgrade over Brandon Bass and would form a pretty formidable frontline with Kevin Garnett. Courtney Lee has been terrible and the Celtics get rid of his contract. Jason Collins is just in the trade to make the salaries work.

Why it works for Cleveland - If Courtney Lee is who we thought he was this summer, the Cavaliers get a 3 and D SG to either help lead the bench unit, or make it so Dion Waiters can come off the bench. I was very high on him in the offseason, but its hard to overstate how bad he has been in Boston. I was not really a Jared Sullinger guy either, but he does look like he can be a decent NBA player at times. The 1st round pick is whatever you guys think of it as.

Ultimate verdict: I would like to see a little bit more out of Lee before we did a trade like this. Unless you really value the 1st round pick, this isn't enough.

Toronto - Toronto sends Landry Fields, Jonas Valanciunas, and Terrence Ross to Cleveland for Anderson Varejao.

Why it works for Toronto - Well, it might not. How high are they on Jonas and Ross? There is not any way to know. Some people think their GM feels like his job may be in jeopardy, so maybe he thinks adding Andy to the core of Lowry, DeRozan, Ed Davis, and Amir Johnson would be helpful. I don't know where Bargnani fits in. They could find another trade for him. But this trade gives them a top center, and allows themselves to take a mulligan on the Landry Fields deal that became ridiculous the minute Steve Nash turned them down.

Why it works for Cleveland - A potential all-star center to replace Varejao would be pretty nice. There are simply few bigs with the upside of Valanciunas. Terrence Ross has underwhelmed, but there is reason to believe he can be a productive NBA player. He has good length, and should be able to develop a decent shot. He doesn't have out of this world athleticism, but theoretically he is an NBA player. Patrick Elder loves him. The Cavaliers can absorb Landry Fields' contract without difficulty.

Ultimate verdict - It is a roll of the dice, but a young core of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Valanciunas, Terrence Ross and Tyler Zeller is pretty good. And so young.

San Antonio and Phoenix - Phoenix recieves Tyler Zeller, Alonzo Gee, Tiago Splitter, and Matt Bonner. San Antonio receives Anderson Varejao, Omri Casspi and the Cavs Lakers/Miami pick, and Cleveland receives Kawhi Leonard, Marcin Gortat, and Michael Beasley.

Why it works for Phoenix - They lose Gortat, who is relatively young and darn good, but they add Zeller and Splitter, two young guys who should be able to help them over the long term, which is what they need to be building for anyways. They get a mulligan on the Beasley deal, and maybe Bonner can provide leadership with Jared Dudley for a young team. They were reportedly high on Gee at one point in the offseason.

Why it works for San Antonio - They don't really trust Splitter when it comes down to it in the playoffs, so as good as he has been for them, he doesn't get it done defensively. Enter Anderson Varejao to play alongside Tim Duncan for a couple more seasons. Losing Kawhi Leonard hurts, and Casspi doesn't exactly fill the void, but they do have Stephen Jackson and are going to get the Lakers pick from us in this trade. The Spurs get a bit older in this trade, but their window with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili isn't getting any wider. They should try and capitalize.

Why it works for Cleveland - They give up Andy, Zeller, Gee, Casspi, absorb Beasley, and give up a first round pick. It is a high price. But adding Leonard and Gortat might be worth it. The Cavaliers would be moving forward with cap space, a top 5 pick in June, Irving, Waiters, Leonard, Thompson, and Gortat. There are worse places to be.

Ultimate verdict: It is complex. I don't know. I like that situation for the Cavs better than the status quo, and you still have Gibson and Walton's expiring contracts to move in other deals.

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City sends Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, Toronto's top 3 protected 2013 pick, and Kendrick Perkins to Cleveland for Anderson Varejao.

Why it works for OKC - Most reports say that OKC is happy with their team at the moment and aren't looking to make a deal. Still, you have to think that adding Andy and getting rid of Perkins deal would be something appealing to them. Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefalosha, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Anderson Varejao and a deep bench is a pretty darn good team.

Why it works for Cleveland - Lamb theoretically is perfect with Kyrie Irving, and could even play in three guard sets with Waiters and Irving. I would talk about this for 300 more words, but you have heard enough from me on Lamb. Perry Jones, meh. Maybe he figures things out. I don't know. The first round pick should be pretty valuable.

Ultimate Verdict - This is probably the most popular Varejao trade, and it makes a lot of sense. It seems to work for both teams.

Alright, I am nearing 1300 words and still have three deals I want to get to so I will post them with a little bit less commentary and you guys can tell me what you think.

Minnesota - Minnesota sends Memphis' 2013 first round pick (lottery protected), Nikola Pekovic, and Alexey Shved for Anderson Varejao.

Pekovic is going to be restricted free agent, and the Memphis pick won't be that great. Still, a good center and a rookie SG that has impressed would be pretty fun. Pekovic is really good.

Denver - Denver sends Danilo Gallinari, Kosta Koufos, and Quincy Miller for Anderson Varejao.

Some good young pieces that fit needs. Koufos is pretty much what we want Zeller to turn into.

Let me know what you think. I tried to do ones that were more likely to be accepted by the other team than things the Cavs would do. Making a bunch of one-sided deals in our favor isn't really very fun.