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Varejao, Cavaliers need to change attitudes
Published on Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007
Anderson Varejao and his agent, Dan Fegan, have finally broken their silence about their contract stalemate with the Cavaliers.
Both spoke with ESPN.com for a story that was posted Monday afternoon. It is an extension of the impasse as the media is now becoming a place to do bargaining.
Varejao was quoted as saying: ''It's gotten to the point that I don't want to play there anymore. I'm just hoping for a sign-and-trade at this point. . . . I'm willing to go and play in Europe if that's what it takes. I know it's a risk and I'll be a restricted free agent next year, but at least I'd be happy. I don't think I'll be happy in Cleveland knowing that I was the lowest-paid player there for three years and am still paid much less than players on the team that I outperform. Life's too short to be unhappy.''
For the most part, it is just a furtherance of the rhetoric leaked out by Fegan through various sources and an English version of what Varejao told a Spanish newspaper several weeks ago. The new aspect is Varejao now saying that he no longer wants to play in Cleveland, which is both newsworthy and emotional. But it's also not binding.
This entire unprecendented ordeal, which has to feel like a never-ending cold for Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry, Varejao and Fegan, has slipped into a counterproductive posturing phase. The plain reality is that this has become like a factory strike, the management feels demands are too high and the union member feels he's a poor little guy not being treated fairly.
Just as when automakers or tire companies or airlines have strikes, both sides are suffering. The Cavs are struggling without their energetic big man and Varejao isn't getting paid on the 15th and 30th. That's to say nothing of their
reputations with the fans, which are both taking a pounding.
The rest of the details really don't matter except to the men in the trenches. Such as who asked for what, when? Who said what to whom? Who showed disrespect? Both sides have leaked out their contract positions and postured to make the other guy look bad. All of the little details have been discussed in the media and none of them have changed and don't need to be rehashed.
Both sides have also made mistakes, whether it was Varejao misjudging the market or Ferry making an unannounced visit to Brazil, a tactic that bombed.
Here is the bottom line, if the Cavs were offering the amount of money Varejao wanted, he'd be in uniform, all hard feelings aside. It is easy to see that the sides are millions of dollars apart and have been since July.
A sign-and-trade, which Varejao said he now wants, has been an option since July. One side might say the Cavs are being too severe in their demands; the other will say no one in the NBA will pay Varejao the money he wants. Even under perfect conditions, sign-and-trades are complicated to pull off. In November, when all NBA teams have their rosters set and their payrolls set in regards to the salary cap and luxury tax line, it's completely unheard of and both sides know it. Most likely, if it is going to be worked out, it's going to be between the two of them.
These are issues, some of them nasty, in almost every contract negotiation, but usually compromise and rationality prevail and a deal is struck. During his tenure, Ferry has agreed to contracts with nine free agents, he knows how to do it. He just solved a conflict with Sasha Pavlovic that ended up satisfying both parties. During his career, Fegan has gotten players contracts from the NBA minimum to the NBA maximum, he knows how to do it, too.
What has made all of this so wacky is that the dustup is over a player who isn't even a starter. Yes, he's important to the Cavs and his value goes beyond his six points and six rebounds per game. His value in the playoffs is unquestioned. But he's a complementary player and the fight has gone 12 rounds with no signs of letting up, which just adds to the meaningless nature of this deep divide.
And bringing LeBron James into it, as many have, is shallow-minded and shortsighted. The Cavs are expected to put a better team around LeBron, better than the team that was swept in the NBA Finals last June and better than the one they have now. They have three years to do it and it is a challenge that will always be there.
No matter what happens, there will always be people who will question whether James wants to stay. No matter what free agent the Cavs are talking to, it will be portrayed as a reason for James to stay or leave. This summer's Varejao is next summer's Daniel Gibson, who will be a restricted free agent then. This is what it is to have a star on your team in the NBA in modern era and it isn't changing anytime soon.
What does need to change is the attitudes. Instead of getting creative in fighting to win the public relations battle, the two sides need to get creative to resolve their differences, otherwise it will continue to be just painful.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
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