At the trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to trade Anderson Varejao. In a three team trade to land Channing Frye, Varejao was sent to Portland. The Blazers immediately decided to waive the forward. The Warriors were considered the early favorites to land veteran big man after he was traded and waived.
Now is the time to cue the “if you can’t beat them, join them” slogan. Late Sunday, reports confirmed that the 6’10” forward would sign with the defending champions.
Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports reported the agreement first:
Andy Varejao has reached agreement with the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2016
With Festus Ezeli and Andrew Bogut nursing injuries, Varejao will look to bring energy and rebounding. Varejao also shared his excitement on Facebook:
Fãs do Golden State, estou empolgado com a oportunidade de me juntar a vocês. Honrado por entrar em uma grande organizaç…
Posted by Anderson Varejão on Sunday, February 21, 2016
In 31 games with the Cavaliers, Varejao has averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. The Warriors roster was maxed out with 15 players. In order to make room for Varejao, the Dubs were forced to waive Jason Thompson. Thompson started once and played in 28 games in his first and only season with Golden State. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest.