Anderson Varejao

[Cavsfan1985]

There is one large expiring that has been linked with Varejao in trade rumors for a while now - Pau Gasol. Would it make any sense for CLE, HOU, and LAL to swing a trade with the basic pieces looking something like..

AV, Jack, LAL Pick to HOU
Lin, Bynum to LAL
Asik, Gasol to CLE
?

I like it, as Gasol would be awesome in the pick and pop. But LA won't take on salery.

 

[myriadwhims]

He wouldn't be behind Bynum

You mean start him at center and move Bynum to the bench? After all the time we spent trying to integrate Bynum's post skills on offense? Or start him at Power Forward? Is he mobile enough to guard power forwards?

 

[Derek]

You mean start him at center and move Bynum to the bench? After all the time we spent trying to integrate Bynum's post skills on offense? Or start him at Power Forward? Is he mobile enough to guard power forwards?

Bynum would either be traded or waived

 

[shoes22]

Bynum would either be traded or waived

Which is an awful idea. We completely annihilate our frontcourt depth like this.
I don't want to be stuck with Zeller for 20 minutes a night.

 

[RyanStackAttack]

I think Asik would be more of Bynum insurance than a replacement. They would have their bases covered defensively if Bynum misses an extended period of time. This would also clear a bit of the logjam at PF and offer more minutes to Clark and eventually Bennett.

I just don't know if what Asik defensively outweighs what Andy brings offensively. And the Cavs still wouldn't have a small forward.

 

[Birdy89]

Which is an awful idea. We completely annihilate our frontcourt depth like this.
I don't want to be stuck with Zeller for 20 minutes a night.

Bynum would be here the rest of the season, he would just have to be released before the FA period begins.

 

[AB21Fan]

I don't understand the appeal of Asik at all beyond him being healthier than Bynum and Varejao.

The Cavs defense is actually very good at home with Bynum/Varejao at the C position. In fact, their defense at the Q is among the top 5 in the league. It's on the road where the Cavs stink on that end of the floor. Unfortunately, that's the way it is with most young teams. The Cavs aren't getting much older or wiser bringing Asik in. Bynum also offers superior offensive capabilities that Asik could only dream of possessing. Hell, even Varejao offers more on the offensive end than Asik. He can at least shoot a mid-range jumper off a pick and pop play.

Unless the Cavs are using Asik to acquire a SF, I don't see why they'd want him.

 

[Derek]

Asik is a much better defender than anything we currently have, he's one of the best in the league. Varejao is a sub-par defender at this point in his career due to his inability to stop anybody in the paint and Bynum's lack of agility hinders him from being much more than a statue going from block to block.

Neither Varejao or Bynum are great offensive players and Asik is serviceable.

Asik would be a fantastic addition to this team.

 

[mcfly]

Note: I love Varejao and what he brings to this team. Asik would be a great insurance policy for Bynum. If Bynum went down anytime in the next two seasons, we would have a legit center to focus on resigning. Asik would clearly get more minutes in Cleveland than he does in Houston, and we still have Zeller and Thompson to backup Asik on the nights that Bynum sits. By acquiring a true center, this opens up time for Bennett at the 4. If Bennett is having a rough game, we play Clark at the 4 behind Thompson. We would have a solid back court, a solid front court rotation, and we would really only be lacking a starting SF... still.

 

[SkaakS]

I don't understand the appeal of Asik at all beyond him being healthier than Bynum and Varejao.

The Cavs defense is actually very good at home with Bynum/Varejao at the C position. In fact, their defense at the Q is among the top 5 in the league. It's on the road where the Cavs stink on that end of the floor. Unfortunately, that's the way it is with most young teams. The Cavs aren't getting much older or wiser bringing Asik in. Bynum also offers superior offensive capabilities that Asik could only dream of possessing. Hell, even Varejao offers more on the offensive end than Asik. He can at least shoot a mid-range jumper off a pick and pop play.

Unless the Cavs are using Asik to acquire a SF, I don't see why they'd want him.

While I agree that it probably wouldn't be the best scenario for this year, I think it's pretty clear that Bynum and Andy are not viable long term options for the team. They are both having fantastic years for the Cavs, but what about two years from now? Will Andy still be a serviceable center? Will Bynum's knees hold up, and if they do, how much will it cost to keep him?

Asik is the same age as Bynum, and while he will never be the defensive or offensive threat that Bynum is or the help defender/energy big that Varejao is, he is still a solid, reliable player that could be a good core player for us for a number of years. Given the price of the big man market and the lack of free agent interest in Cleveland, I don't think it would be a bad move to cash in some of our short term assets to shore up our team with viable long-term options like Asik.

 

[Derek]

While I agree that it probably wouldn't be the best scenario for this year, I think it's pretty clear that Bynum and Andy are not viable long term options for the team. They are both having fantastic years for the Cavs, but what about two years from now? Will Andy still be a serviceable center? Will Bynum's knees hold up, and if they do, how much will it cost to keep him?

Asik is the same age as Bynum, and while he will never be the defensive or offensive threat that Bynum is or the help defender/energy big that Varejao is, he is still a solid, reliable player that could be a good core player for us for a number of years. Given the price of the big man market and the lack of free agent interest in Cleveland, I don't think it would be a bad move to cash in some of our short term assets to shore up our team with viable long-term options like Asik.

Asik is a much better defender than Bynum or Varejao

 

[Birdy89]

Note: I love Varejao and what he brings to this team. Asik would be a great insurance policy for Bynum. If Bynum went down anytime in the next two seasons, we would have a legit center to focus on resigning. Asik would clearly get more minutes in Cleveland than he does in Houston, and we still have Zeller and Thompson to backup Asik on the nights that Bynum sits. By acquiring a true center, this opens up time for Bennett at the 4. If Bennett is having a rough game, we play Clark at the 4 behind Thompson. We would have a solid back court, a solid front court rotation, and we would really only be lacking a starting SF... still.

Bynum would have to be released at the end of this season if we got Asik.

There will be no 2 seasons together.

 

[Cavatt]

Asik is so offensively challenged. He does not open up the floor at all. I agree he is a good defender, but he is worse on offense than Gee. Hard to get excited about when Andy is playing so well, and our Frontcourt looks so good.

 

[Nathan S]

If we were talking about trading Andy for a top-10 offensive player in the league this wouldn't even be a discussion :chuckles:

That said, losing Andy would really be a blow to our offense. It leaves us with no floor spacing at all from our frontcourt. It would be a win on paper, but we'd need to be more creative offensively to make it work, and I'm not sure Mike Brown is capable of that.

 

[Derek]

Asik is so offensively challenged. He does not open up the floor at all. I agree he is a good defender, but he is worse on offense than Gee. Hard to get excited about when Andy is playing so well, and our Frontcourt looks so good.

Asik isn't good offensively, but he doesn't hurt you. Center is the one position where you can get away with that, too. He doesn't need to open up the floor, that's not the Center's job. Andy's defense is not good anymore, and Bynum is not a solution, just a band-aid. Asik can be a solution.

If we were talking about trading Andy for a top-10 offensive player in the league this wouldn't even be a discussion :chuckles:

That said, losing Andy would really be a blow to our offense. It leaves us with no floor spacing at all from our frontcourt. It would be a win on paper, but we'd need to be more creative offensively to make it work, and I'm not sure Mike Brown is capable of that.

Our floor spacing is a problem anyways. Regardless of what moves we make, we absolutely need our PF's (Tristan and Bennett) to be able to spread the floor.