The trade talk for Anderson Varejao has been consistently present in recent seasons, but the asking price the Cavaliers organization placed on him has always been too steep for teams to consider.
That might change this year, with Varejao leading the league in rebounding and having an All-Star caliber season — even if, as we discussed on our weekly podcast, the fans have been slow to realize it.
Despite Varejao’s improved performance, he’s still believed to be available for other teams to acquire via trade.
The price tag, however, is likely on the rise.
From Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
We shared with you in a recent Weekend Dime how one Eastern Conference team official routinely refers to Varejao’s run of double-doubles this season as the Brazilian’s “Get Me Out of Cleveland” tour.
Various teams have chimed in since to say that Varejao is highly available, as he has been for the past few seasons, but likewise expressed a good amount of skepticism about his actually moving before the trade buzzer in February because the Cavs’ perpetually high asking price has only gone up.
In other words, unless a team with both young assets and a high draft pick comes calling and is willing to pay a hefty price for Varejao’s services, don’t expect him to be moved just yet.
The last time we talked about the Varejao situation, we mentioned the Thunder as the team that would benefit the most from the addition of a player with his skill set. They have the combination of players and picks that the Cavaliers would likely be seeking, but Stein also reports that OKC hasn’t shown very much interest.
