I don't really understand the point of holding onto Varejao.
He is an elite complimentary player but not a cornerstone of a franchise.in my opinion.
I just don't see the point of holding on to him ad he has gone through his ceiling pretty much. Why not look at some young guys with star potential +Draft picks?
Also any chance (although something I hate about the NBA) that he starts griping about his situation and possibly ask suggest that they move on?
Well, there are two ways they can go here.
If Kyrie is healthy, they might only be 1 more All-Star level player away from being a very dangerous team, but a big part of that would be having Varajao in the middle. They have the cap space to make a deal for an impact player, along with a stockpile of future #1s (2 from Miami, 1 from LA, and one from Sacramento) if anyone hits the market.
But, if Kyrie is not going to be healthy, or they don't see a way to add another piece, then I agree that it does make sense to move Varajao. But I don't think they will be in any rush, since he is under contract for another season. They can hold out for the package they want. And I just don't see the C's being a good match for that.
What's a very dangerous team? Low playoff seed that could upset a team?
I just don't see them even competing really with those top 4-5 teams for the foreseeable future. You got Miami, nets, knicks, hawks, boston, with pacers + Sixers looking in from the outside.
I don't see them improving dramatically (or to be a threat in the east) adding one more star like Joe Johnson unless you are talking a super star.
When you are talking about developing a potential superstar in Irving, a low playoff seed and an upset chance, can be much more valuable than a couple more draft picks or more young guys, for a team that already has a stock of them.
Here are the assets the Cavs have to build around:
Irving - young superstar
Waiters - looks like he could be a star as well, and is surprisingly fitting in well with Irving
Tristan Thompson - Talented, athletic PF, who is already a quality defender and rebounder, and is developing nicely offensively.
Tyler Zeller - Looks like he will at least be a servicable backup center, if not more.
Even Alonzo Gee looks like he is turning into a very good player.
Then they have 4 first round draft picks coming there way, in addition to all of their own, and a couple extra second rounders as well.
So, they have a decent stockpile of assets, and young players. They are really reaching the point in their lifecycle, where they need to stop collecting and turn some of those assets into a winning basketball team, before they create a lasting culture of losing, that spoils everything.
That's a wildly generous assessment of Cleveland's talent base (Thompson isn't showing much of anything offensively - 45% shooting on low volume - and is still very raw as a defender; I don't see Waiters star potential unless you consider Ben Gordon a star - a 6th man scorer who is too small/limited to be a bonafide starter at the 2-guard; Ty Zeller hasn't even shown himself to be a servicable back-up yet; Gee is a fringe rotation player).
But I can still see your point and see why the Cavs might be hopeful that they can follow a similar route to the one the C's rode to glory in 2007. Walton/Gibson/Casspi is a pretty sizable chunk of expiring contracts (that Gibson is half-guaranteed is an extra bonus) and they do have a ton of picks and prospects.
But outside of the untouchable Irving, they lack a Big Al heavy-hitter prospect. Thompson & Waiters were big reaches in the draft and haven't blossomed into major assets yet. And Zeller/Gee/late first rounders are firmly in the Gerald Green/Ryan Gomes/future picks category as modestly attractive fill-in.
The one heavy hitter in Cleveland's arsenal is their upcoming pick. And I don't think they'd be best served by spending that on a veteran impact player just yet - they are quite a bit further away from contention than any of the players potentially available on the market could bring them. That's the other problem.
Of the games top 10-20 players, are any on the market for a picks + prospects package? LeBron, Durant, Howard, CP3, D-Will, Wade, Rose, Kobe, Rondo, Harden, Westbrook, KG, Bosh, Melo, Griffin, Love... The best guy on the trading block (in my view) is Pau - and he's not going to be had for picks and prospects. Dirk is another, but I don't think Dallas will move him. Too stubborn.
That leaves guys like Josh Smith and maybe Al Horford.
No I think Cleveland is better off trading Varejao, accumulating more assets and building a stronger, younger foundation around Irving.