Anderson Varejao

[westsidebob]

I think a lot of people are overlooking the third year team option on the contract. Would I have extended AV for two more years at 10 per year coming into this season? Absolutely.

It's up to AV to earn that third year. Who knows, if the team wins, he might just hang it up.

It's a two year contract that results in a $10M nonguarenteed trade chip in year 3.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Regardless of his rebounding rate, i still think paying a 32 year old 30 million over 3 years, who's game relies on pure hustle, was a little short-sighted.

Anyone who says that Varejao's game relies on pure hustle hasn't watched him play in five years. He's become a very skilled player. He's a smart passer, great at cutting to the basket, and is money when you leave him open around the free throw line, which everyone still does for some reason even though he never misses it.

 

[elcheato]

I've always been skeptical of Varejao's rebounding. For a guy who has been considered a "great" rebounder, he seems to give up quite a few offensive rebounds because of his lack of athleticism and not the greatest technique. Maybe there are stats that dispute this, but it's what I've noticed.

However, his offensive game has obviously evolved, and at this point it's probably the strongest part of his game.

 

[Kbiz]

Anyone who says that Varejao's game relies on pure hustle hasn't watched him play in five years. He's become a very skilled player. He's a smart passer, great at cutting to the basket, and is money when you leave him open around the free throw line, which everyone still does for some reason even though he never misses it.

I have watched Varejao since he was a floppy little pup on this team. His cuts rely on athleticism. He is far from money at the elbow. Can he hit those shots? Yes but not at a consistent rate.

The Varejao i have watched this year isn't the Varejao of the past five years. He appears slower closing out on pick n' rolls. He doesn't appear to get up as high defending post players...all things that tell me his ability to hustle has dwindled a bit.

My point is that giving him that contract this early in the season seems premature. Before his injury woes, when he was averaging a double double, yes but at this point in his career, i question the contract.

 

[BimboColesHair]

I have watched Varejao since he was a floppy little pup on this team. His cuts rely on athleticism. He is far from money at the elbow. Can he hit those shots? Yes but not at a consistent rate.

The Varejao i have watched this year isn't the Varejao of the past five years. He appears slower closing out on pick n' rolls. He doesn't appear to get up as high defending post players...all things that tell me his ability to hustle has dwindled a bit.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but Andy was one of the best midrange shooters in the league last season...yet he can't hit them at a consistent rate?

edit: sure enough, 49.1% from 10 feet out to the 3 point line last year...yeah, he can't hit those shots at a consistent rate. Also, he's at 44.4% with those shots this year, which is still above average, albeit with a very small sample size (4/9 from those distances).

 

[Kbiz]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but Andy has been one of the best midrange shooters in the league the last few seasons...yet he can't hit them at a consistent rate?

The sample size for his midrange game is small every season. That must be taken into account. To claim he is one of the best in the league is a bit of an inflated statement.

edit: From games i've watched, he gets that open elbow jumper look less then 3 time a game. I don't think that warrants a best shooter claim.

 

[BimboColesHair]

The sample size for his midrange game is small every season. That must be taken into account. To claim he is one of the best in the league is a bit of an inflated statement.

edit: From games i've watched, he gets that open elbow jumper look less then 3 time a game. I don't think that warrants a best shooter claim.

I wouldn't consider 173 of his 459 FGA (~38% of his attempted shots) last season to be a small sample size. That's how many of those shots outside of 10 feet he took. You're going to have a hard time convincing people here that he isn't a good midrange shooter, cause he is a good midrange shooter.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Here is a visual for you since you have a hard time believing he was good around the FT line last year, @Kbiz8288

 

[Kbiz]

I wouldn't consider 187 of his 459 FGA (40% of his attempted shots) last season to be a small sample size. That's how many of those shots outside of 10 feet he took. You're going to have a hard time convincing people here that he isn't a good midrange shooter, cause he is a good midrange shooter.

My original point was that i do not believe he was worth that much money at this point in his career. I am not here to dissect his game. I have my opinion of him as a shooter. If people want to believe he is one of the best midrange shooters in the NBA, that's fine with me.

IMO, 2.2 mid range makes a game doesn't mean you're a midrange shooter. That is not his game. He is an energy big with great defensive instincts, great chemistry with Lebron, and a high B-ball IQ.

If he can continue to play the way he has the past two years, great. I just don't see it happening, especially at that age. His salary puts him in the top 60 in the NBA. I do not think he is worth that, considering his age and his injury history.

 

[SteelSmack]

Rookie scale salaries skew the top players list, though. If you were to list the top 60 players not on rookie contracts, there's a good chance Andy is on that list, which makes his contract OK, in my opinion.

 

[Kbiz]

If Andy can stay healthy, it's a great deal. I just would've preferred the wait and see approach. If he goes down this year, he still gets paid the following.

I don't like talking about the future b/c no one knows what it holds. I do know that there are going to be some nice looking free agent targets in 2015 that we may have to get into a bidding war for. I just want us to have all cap available, especially considering Love and James' contract situations.

 

[BimboColesHair]

My original point was that i do not believe he was worth that much money at this point in his career. I am not here to dissect his game. I have my opinion of him as a shooter. If people want to believe he is one of the best midrange shooters in the NBA, that's fine with me.

IMO, 2.2 mid range makes a game doesn't mean you're a midrange shooter. That is not his game. He is an energy big with great defensive instincts, great chemistry with Lebron, and a high B-ball IQ.

If he can continue to play the way he has the past two years, great. I just don't see it happening, especially at that age. His salary puts him in the top 60 in the NBA. I do not think he is worth that, considering his age and his injury history.

See, none of that is my issue with what you said. You saying he can't hit a shot around the FT line consistently, which is the only reason I replied to you in the 1st place, while you can't prove that because the numbers suggest otherwise is where my problem with your opinion of him as a shooter is. I never said he is a shooting big man, or one of the most skilled bigs in the game, but he was one of the more consistent shooters from the FT line and midrange in the game last year, among all positions, not just bigs. Numbers back that up in the big way too.

 

[CSF]

I didn't think it was possible for Andy to have zero defensive rebounds in 27 minutes. Love did have 15 but Bron only had 4. AV needs to crash the boards.

 

[CSF]

Awesome, Andy's getting paid 10 mill a year to be a 18 mpg role player.

 

[Cavatt]

Andy is a great shooter because he had great shot selection. Everyone on the team could learn from him.