While We’re Waiting… Very Valuable Varejao

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

“Anderson Varejao scored 35 points and grabbed 18 rebounds last night in a loss to the Nets. It feels crazy to write that, because Varejao isn’t the kind of center you expect to put up such fat numbers. He’s the “energy guy,” the big man who never stops moving, fighting for rebounds, tipping balls to teammates. He’s the sort of player who puts up cockeyed stat lines—an 8-and-13 guy. So how the hell does a guy with no real offensive game to speak of pour in 35 points? By proving that “energy guy” and “extremely talented” are not mutually exclusive, that’s how.” [Ley/Deadspin]

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Baseball America’s Top Ten Prospects for the Indians- “If the Indians are counting on help from the minors, impact talent is still at least a couple of years away. Francisco Lindor is a potential all-star and fellow shortstop Dorssys Paulino may be the best international player they’ve signed since Peralta in 1999. But neither has played above low Class A, nor has 2012 first-rounder Tyler Naquin, and beyond them the system is thin.” [Badler/Baseball America]

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Marlins fan trades his allegiance- “It is now my time to make a trade. Your entire organization is being traded for a new club, which houses many of your former players — the Detroit Tigers. I have been following them for many years as I took up residence in Michigan, but I had always retained my loyalty to you. Not any longer. 100 percent of my loyalty has been shifted. It will no longer be “Let’s Go Fish,” but “Let’s Go Tigers” — a team with an owner who actually cares about winning instead of his bottom line.

Goodbye, Billy the Marlin. Hello, Paws.

Thanks for the memories, though. The good ones were mostly erased by all of the moves you made over the years, but I will always be grateful for you bringing a professional sports team to south Florida. Even though Joe Robbie, Pro Player, Dolphins, and Sun Life Stadium were empty on most nights, I paid my hard earned money to see live professional baseball for many years and create everlasting memories that I will carry with me forever with the last one being now.” [Big League Stew]

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“As bad as the Cavs are on defense, there is one player I believe is head and shoulders below everyone other starter on defense. The Cavs start six players: Anderson Varajao, Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thomson, Dion Waiters, Kyrie Irving’s offense, and Kyrie Irving’s defense. This is like the Star Trek where evil trans-dimensional Kirk replaces good Kirk, except it happens to Kyrie every time he doesn’t have the ball. It’s mind boggling how a player who is so gifted and instinctive on offense can be so terrible on defense. Maybe he needs to lose the Evil Spock goatee.” [Smith/Cavs the Blog]

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“So let’s say we trade Andy for a lottery pick and another talented young player. Say we trade him to OKC for Jeremy Lamb and Toronto’s guaranteed lottery pick. For that trade to come out on the plus side for us we’d have to hit on that pick, Lamb would have to develop into a solid player, AND we’d have to find a way to resign those two players in a few years when we’ve already, presumably, extended Kyrie to a max deal and hopefully extended Dion Waiters. That’s a lot that has to happen. Once the young players hit their stride, assuming they even do, just like OKC we’d be looking at a one or two year window to break through before the cap crunch. Stars would have to align in a way that us Clevelanders certainly aren’t used to seeing.

So instead we should diversify. Going forward we should be looking at a team of young talent with a mix of established NBA veterans. Chris Grant has done an admirable job ripping down and rebuilding this roster much faster than I, or anyone, could’ve hoped for after the decision. While I’ll never say we have enough young talent, the picks have been made and the infusion has already occurred. We don’t know what the future has in store for Tristan Thompson, Zeller, or even Waiters frankly. But the early returns on Waiters and the fact that Kyrie Irving is an absolute star would indicate it’s time to move forward to the next phase. In fact, the rise of Kyrie Irving from promising rookie to a player that looks like he could very well be one of the best PG’s in the league right now is the main reason it’s time to move forward. With a talent like his I don’t think we need to dump a double-double machine to roll the dice in the lottery anymore. Especially one who is incredibly underpaid and is quickly developing a tremendous chemistry with your young superstar.” [Nagel/Stepien Rules]