The Cleveland Cavaliers handed out a fat $30 million extension to center Anderson Varejao before the deadline last month, but so far he’s hardly played up to it’s standard.
When Anderson Varejao was given an extension last Friday right before tip off with the Chicago Bulls, there were plenty of people who applauded the move. In response, Varejao went out and has a solid game against the Bulls but not a great game and since then he’s been a ghost in the front court.
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So here we sit, exactly a week later with the Cavaliers 1-3, wondering if the $30 million extension was worth it or not. Through the first four games of the season, the Cavaliers big man is averaging just five rebounds per game and less than 10 points, which is a pretty big problem considering he’s the starting center on the team.
It wouldn’t be bad if his points were down but rebounds were — or vice versa — but having both totals on the low end is something that is causing a lot of headaches with fans. It’s also causing some regret in terms of the extension he received.
Of course, it’s far too early to pass proper judgement on Anderson Varejao, but the skeptics who existed when his extension was handed out are getting louder and louder as his numbers go down.
In the last two games for the Cavaliers, both of which were losses, Varejao grabbed a combined 14 rebounds (only 5 against the Blazers) and scored less than double digit points in both contests. This is an issue as there needs to be an identity to Varejao for him to be bounced off of in the lineup.
Either Varejao can be a defensive center — which he’s shown a flare for being most of his career — or an offensive minded scoring center which is something else he’s been at times.
The best case scenario would be that Anderson Varejao gets back to where he was from 2011-2013 when he was averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. He’s always been a balanced center though, rather than an either-or center, which is good when he’s going for 14 points and 14 rebounds per night but it’s awful when he comes up short on both ends.
Varejao is still worth the extension at this point because we’re only four games into the season and there’s a lot of basketball left. If e’still struggling on the boards in January and his points total isn’t any better, then that may be a time to revisit his worth.
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