The Cleveland Cavaliers have been looking to add more frontcourt depth for a while. Now, with the news that starting center Anderson Varejao will reportedly miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles, a deal could be made sooner rather than later.
Varejao’s rebounding has decreased this season — the big man is pulling down a modest 6.5 boards per game. His nearly ten points per contest and 56 percent shooting from the floor, however, still made him a decent center. Varejao injured his foot during the team’s win over Minnesota earlier in the week.
The injury now puts Cleveland into a more desperate situation in terms of adding a center to their roster. The Cavs can try to play Tristan Thompson at center, but that leaves little-used Brendan Haywood, Lou Amundson, and Alex Kirk (recently recalled from the D-League) as the only other options to play behind he and Love. Simply put, that trio isn’t all that capable of providing regular quality minutes in a rotation.
Starting power forward Kevin Love was already playing a lot of minutes, averaging just over 36 per game. That number could be increased a little if Thompson moves into the starting lineup and frontcourt depth is a significant issue for the team moving forward.
Earlier this year, the team targeted seven-footers Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos to add to their roster. Those attempts were unsuccessful, but Cleveland may pursue one of them again.
Prying Mozgov away from the Denver Nuggets could be a challenge. The center is averaging career-highs in rebounds (8.0) and blocks (1.3) per game, and shooting a career best 53 percent from the field. In addition to his 8.9 points per game, another reason Cleveland could want him is because he played for Cavs head coach David Blatt on the Russian National team. Blatt is familiar with his game but the more impressive Mozgov looks, the more difficult it will be to trade for him.
Koufos could come at a cheaper price, though, Cleveland has been unsuccessful in trying to trade for him to this point as well. He’s currently a backup center in Memphis, playing only 14 minutes a game. Koufos, though, is known as a decent defender and has been relatively efficient this year, making the most of his minutes.
Those two may not be the only options, though. Additionally, ESPN says that Cleveland could turn to the Boston Celtics, who have a glut of frontcourt players, including Kelly Olynyk, Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger, Brandon Bass, and the newly-acquired Brandan Wright.
With the Cavaliers looking for a big man, it likely means that a guard or small forward would be included in any deal. In that case, all eyes will turn to shooting guard Dion Waiters, who has been the subject of numerous trade rumors over his brief career. Cleveland may finally be ready to let go of him, too. Waiters is in the middle of arguably his worst season as he’s seen his minutes cut dramatically under Blatt. Now averaging 22.8 minutes per game, his 10.4 points per contest are easily the lowest of his career. Waiters is also averaging career-lows in rebounds and assists with the reduced time on the court, and for the first time, he is shooting below 30 percent from three-point range.
Cleveland might require a guard in return for any deal involving Waiters, but it’s more possible than ever that he gets dealt. The team is reportedly willing to trade him to get a difference-maker at center.
Additionally, the Cleveland Plain Dealer also floated the name of Roy Hibbert last month, but that would require bringing even more to the table. It’s possible the Cavs go that route if they feel that going ‘all in’ is necessary to capitalize while they still have Love on the roster. However, dealing for Hibbert could simply cost too much.
Cleveland had hoped to add a frontcourt player to the roster already but the Varejao injury may speed up that process.
