The Cleveland Cavaliers' 125-104 win Tuesday night against Minnesota reportedly could have cost them center Anderson Varejao for the season. With Varejao possibly done for the year, a trade or a free-agent signing appears inevitable - will Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos or a free agent such as Jermaine O'Neal end up in Cleveland before the deadline?
Varejao suffered a left foot injury on Tuesday, and the unofficial prognosis doesn't look good. ESPN reported sources as saying the team believes the center likely tore Achilles tendon. If that's true, Cleveland will be without their starting big man for at least the remainder of the season.
Cleveland was already in need of a rim-protector, and the possible loss of Varejao now makes them desperate for one. Tristan Thompson and Lou Amundson, both of who are natural power forwards, along with center Brendan Haywood are the Cavs reserve big men. The Cavaliers' lack of depth and size in the paint now makes it seemingly inevitable Cleveland will make an acquisition this season.
Armed with a $5.28 million trade exception, two first-round draft picks in 2015 and - possibly, if the league grants it - a $5.3 million Disabled Player Exception from Varejao, Cleveland is in a position to make a deal before the Feb. 19 trade deadline. Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov and Memphis Grizzlies backup center Kosta Koufos have been reported all season as potential trade targets for the Cavs, who may now have no other choice but to buy high on a center.
Free agency is also an option. The two biggest names on the market, in terms of centers, are Jermaine O'Neal and Emeka Okafor. O'Neal, whom the Dallas Mavericks are believed to be the frontrunner for, took to Twitter on Tuesday and indicated if he returned for another season it'd after speaking with his family and would likely be in February.
There's uncertainty around Okafor, meanwhile, as he continues to recover from neck surgery.
