With Nocioni off the board, it seems like attention is turning back to Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao, another restricted free agent. ESPN’s Chris Sheridan reports that Varejao flew into Vegas to meet with Grizzlies representatives last night.
Sheridan is also reporting that Cleveland exec Danny Ferry told him the Cavs would match any offer for Varejao. But the Cleveland Plain Dealer has suggested the Cavs won’t go overboard to resign Varejao.
I’ve already addressed Varejao’s worth as a Grizzlies target with this post last week. But I’ll reiterate: If the Griz want Varejao, then it would seem to make sense to frontload the contract offer, much as the Bulls have just done with Nocioni. A $7 or $8 million dollar salary for next season might be too much for the Cavs to stomach given their luxury tax status, while have the contract decrease from that point would have Varejao making a more realistic amount by the time the Griz would have to start offering extensions to their own young players.
