<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>After watching Varejao for four seasons, there shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind that Varejao has been one of key rocks next to LeBron James in this LeBron Era. Four? Maybe I should have meant “three,” because something happened since the end of that third season. You see, Varejao was the definition of an “energy guy” when he was playing under his rookie contract those first three years. He would be the guy to come off the bench and really turn a game around and wreak havoc. This was the kind of guy that every championship contender should have - heck, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to call him the poor man’s Dennis Rodman, because Varejao had total disregard for his body when trying to save the ball from going out of bounds or trying to fly over four guys to grab an offensive board. In a blue-collar city like Cleveland that values the kind of guy that works hard for every dollar, Varejao and his cheap six-digit salary (the equivalent of minimum wages in the NBA) quickly became a fan favorite. On top of that, it was never about the stats with Varejao: when he was in the game, the Cavs were doing well. Period. And that led to analysis and statistical research that tried to change the way fans and statisticians look at the game: should a guy who averages 16 and 11 be looked at less favorably than a guy who averages six and six? How about when the latter’s team is plus-15 for every 48 minutes he’s on the floor while the double double guy’s squad is minus-4? What it really led to is one of the ugliest contract situations in Cavaliers franchise history - and definitely the ugliest contract holdout in the organization’s 38-year history. We all know the story by now: Varejao and his agent, Dan Fegan, were looking at a big pay day once Varejao became a restricted free agent (key word: restricted) this past offseason. It had only been a year since Fegan last represented a Brazilian power forward who was a restricted free agent - in the summer of ‘06, Fegan scored a six-year, $60 million deal for Nene with the Denver Nuggets despite the fact that Nene went down for the season just a few minutes into the season opener the previous year. Now, he wanted the same deal for his other Brazilian restricted free agent power forward. The Cavs didn’t give it to him. Varejao said he wouldn’t play for them despite the fact that the Cavs held his rights for as long as they wanted to. Fegan then had Varejao sign a two-year offer sheet for the Charlotte Bobcats with a player option for a third season, and Cavs GM Danny Ferry took just hours to match it. The 6′10″, 240-pounder followed all that drama up by setting a career-high with 8.3 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game, but that was the only bright spot in his 2007-08 campaign. After missing the first month of the season due to the holdout, Varejao missed another month in the middle of the season due to a left ankle sprain. Following the acquisition of defensive specialist Ben Wallace at the trade deadline, Varejao tried way too hard to stand out with his offensive game, became frustrated due to head coach Mike Brown’s favoring of Wallace in crunch time, and just underwent a total meltdown that had many fans fearing a drop in his trade value. And the flopping: we can’t have a piece on Anderson Varejao without talking about the flopping. No doubt his trade value around the league might take some kind of a hit after the league announced last week that it will start handing down steep fines for floppers starting next season. (Heck, click on the link to that article I just gave you: who’s picture is on there???)</div> Source If you've got time, read the whole article from that link, it's a really great read and sums up Varejao's career so far with the Cavs brilliantly. The more you look at him, the more he seems like Boozer in Cleveland. He had energy, he went for every loose ball/ He grabbed rebounds, he made big plays. And he sold out.
