NBA Rumors: Anderson Varejao not guaranteed to start for Cavs

When LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love followed, fans began projecting which five would take the floor as the franchise who suffered through four tumultuous years was now primed to compete for a NBA championship.

With a rim-protecting center as the teams biggest problem, it was assumed that Anderson Varejao would be the starting five on this team, but first-year head coach David Blatt isn’t making any guarantees at the moment when it comes to his center position.

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For further proof of what could be a demotion for the Brazilian center, Tristan Thompson started as center alongside Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, LeBron James, and Kevin Love in their televised intrasquad scrimmage.

With David Blatt still figuring out his personnel, his words and Thompson’s appearance in the starting lineup during the scrimmage could ultimately mean nothing. While Thompson’s youth and athleticism is a nice draw alongside a Waiters-Irving-Love-James foursome, Varejao’s ability to knock down the mid-range jumper, defend the pick-and-roll and create as a playmaker makes him the ideal player for center.

The season begins in 20-plus days, so Blatt has time to thoroughly decide who starts at the center.

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