Will Anderson Varejao Have a Role with Cleveland Cavaliers Next Season?

Anderson Varejao is the longest-tenured member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's also become their forgotten man.

It's been nearly seven months since Varejao tore his left Achilles tendon. Since then, Cleveland has undergone a major transformation and achieved postseason success without him.

Now, after a successful stretch of rehab, Varejao is once again ready to suit up for the Cavs, a team suddenly quite deep and talented at both post positions.

"Andy...feels very good," general manager David Griffin told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "He actually wanted to try to dress in the Finals and wasn't real happy that we didn't let him to do it. So, I anticipate he'll be ready for the start of camp."

With the fan favorite set to begin a new three-year, $30 million extension, where does he now fit on these new-look Cavaliers?

Crowded Depth Chart

When Varejao went down on Dec. 23, he did so as the team's starting center, receiving a healthy 24.5 minutes a night.

Following a trade for Timofey Mozgov and the emergence of other young bigs, Varejao now faces a battle not to start, but rather just for playing time as a reserve.

Although nearly four months from the start of the season, the Cavs already have their starting frontcourt set. Power forward Kevin Love chose to re-up in Cleveland for the next five years, while the team elected to pick up Mozgov's $4.95 million option. Both were extremely effective when healthy last season and very much deserve to have a guaranteed starting role.

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Tristan Thompson, when he eventually re-signs, is a tremendous backup at both post spots. He's quickly become one of the NBA's best offensive rebounders and, unlike Varejao, has been a model of durability. Thompson hasn't missed a game the past three seasons, while Varejao has sat out more contests (130) than he's played (116).

Love, Mozgov and Thompson could all easily play 30-plus minutes a night, and that's not counting LeBron James. While James has primarily gone back to playing small forward in Cleveland, he did spend 27 percent of his total court time at power forward last season. When the Cavs go small, James sees his share of minutes at the 4, cutting into playing time for the other bigs.

There's also second-round pick Rakeem Christmas now being thrown into the fold. The 23-year-old power forward/center could become the Cavaliers' second-best rim protector behind Mozgov if given an opportunity. He averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a senior at Syracuse this past year.

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While center Brendan Haywood is still technically on the roster, he's likely to be moved or released before August 2, when his $10.5 million contract for 2015-16 becomes fully guaranteed.

Money could definitely play a role here, as Varejao is set to become one of the team's highest-paid players, even if his role no longer justifies such a salary, as Scott Davis of Business Insider noted:

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The Varejao extension then becomes a thorn in the Cavs' side. At $9.6 million next season, Varejao could only be the Cavs' fourth-highest player — behind LeBron, Love, Irving, and Thompson — possibly fifth, depending on what Shumpert may get. With the emergence of Timofey Mozgov, that's a lot of money to spend on a backup center.

When the Cavs' front office has to make tough decisions on how much to pay players like Smith, Shumpert, and Dellavedova, they may look at the money Varejao is making as bothersome, particularly because he's rarely a healthy contributor. However, given his friendship with James and his relatively low trade value, there's no easy way out of paying him.

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Varejao not only has to prove he's fully recovered from yet another devastating injury, but also that he deserves to take minutes from the Cavaliers' solid post core.

Differing Skill Sets

Varejao's main argument for playing time is his unique skill set.

All of Cleveland's bigs bring something different to the table. Love is the primary scorer and floor-stretcher. Mozgov is the defensive anchor. Thompson can guard multiple positions and feasts on offensive boards.

For Varejao, his bread and butter has always come down to two key areas: hustle and rebounding.

While his rebounding tailed off last season when sharing the court with Love (6.5 per game), Varejao has proven to be one of the NBA's best at collecting misses. In 2013-14, Varejao ranked ninth in rebounding per minute (16.8 per 48 minutes), even finishing ahead of Love (16.5).

His hustling and all-out effort may not help prevent injuries, but it is a valuable skill, especially when not having to play an excessive amount of minutes.

Love, for all his offensive prowess, isn't one to typically dive for loose balls. Mozgov, at 7'1" and 250-plus pounds, would likely dent the court if he tried. The Cavaliers need Varejao to come in and do the dirty work that others are unwilling to do.

To be fair to Thompson, the 24-year-old is very much considered a hustle player as well, and he will be joining Varejao off the bench. Both can play either post position, and neither pack much of an offensive punch.

So, how can Varejao justify taking minutes from the younger, more athletic Thompson, especially if the latter eventually signs a five-year, $80 million deal?

Floor spacing certainly helps.

While Varejao isn't a three-point threat, he's developed a nice mid-range jumper in recent years. Thompson's offense is confined to putbacks and finishes around the rim, often set up by a teammate.

Last season, Varejao connected on 57.1 percent of his jumpers from outside of 16 feet, a shot he attempted 14.0 percent of the time. By comparison, Thompson took a shot from that same distance at just a 1.6 percent rate, on which he connected 37.5 percent of the time.

Varejao's ability to knock down outside looks helps keep driving lanes open for James and Kyrie Irving. He and Thompson can play beside each other without clogging the paint.

The reason that Varejao will ultimately earn playing time is this versatility. He has the size to defend centers but isn't an expert shot-blocker. Varejao can guard the pick-and-roll but doesn't have Thompson's athleticism or quickness.

At 32 years of age and with significant wear and tear, the Cavaliers don't need Varejao to play 30 minutes a night or put up gaudy stats. Instead, playing a complementary role to whoever's on the court will be key. Perhaps these decreased minutes can help keep him healthy for a full season. They can't hurt.

If paired with Thompson, Varejao becomes the stretch big. When sharing the floor with Mozgov, he must switch over to power forward and defend the pick-and-roll. Together with Love, Varejao must then revert to typical center and feast on the offensive boards.

Projected Role

Varejao, when healthy, is still a quality big for whom the Cavaliers must find minutes.

Yes, Love, Mozgov and Thompson should all come before him. All are younger, more durable and offer the most opportunity for growth.

That doesn't mean Varejao can't help, though. Cleveland needs him to provide that constant energetic presence, the same thing he's done since arriving via trade in 2004. Things are going to get scrappy over the course of 82 games. Varejao isn't afraid to step in and be physical while sacrificing his body for anything the team asks of him.

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Cleveland needs to keep James primarily at small forward, or even shooting guard, so as to open up minutes for Varejao. With no proven backup for James at the moment, this shouldn't be a problem.

Given the minute averages for Love (33.8), Mozgov (25.0) and Thompson (26.8) last season, this only leaves 10.4 out of a possible 96 for both the power forward and center positions. Approximately 10 minutes per night for Varejao is perfect. That's enough to make his presence felt while also saving his body as much as possible.

With Shawn Marion (retirement) and Kendrick Perkins (free agent) out the door, Varejao can also be used to fill in their gaps. We know from last season that he's earned coach David Blatt's trust, something both Marion and Perkins couldn't say in the playoffs.

Set to enter his 12th season in Cleveland, the Cavs still have a need for the floppy-haired Brazilian who's given so much of himself to the team for over a decade.

Although greatly reduced, the Cavaliers should still have an important role waiting for Varejao this fall.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. Follow him on Twitter: @CavsGregBR

All stats come via Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.