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Golden State Warriors re-sign Anderson Varejao

By Jack Senboutharath

June 2, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Anderson Varejao (18) during the shoot around before playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
June 2, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Anderson Varejao (18) during the shoot around before playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Anderson Varejao has decided to stay with the Golden State Warriors signing  a one year contract to chase an NBA Championship.

After weeks of speculations that a deal was going to be done between the two sides, the Warriors announced that they have officially signed Varejao to a one year contract. The 6-foot-10 big man will provide front court depth again.

Last season, Varejao only appeared in 22 games during the regular season, averaging 8.4 minutes. The 33 year old appeared in 17 games during the NBA Playoffs, barely averaging 5.5 minutes.

Some changes have been made to the Warriors front court. Andrew Bogut was traded away to the Dallas Mavericks to clear salary cap space for Kevin Durant. Festus Ezeli jumped on a two year contract worth $15.2 million from the Portland Trail Blazers. Replacing Ezeli and Bogut will be David West and Zaza Pachulia, two NBA veterans who took cheap contracts to chase an NBA Championship.

Even with the departures of Ezeli and Pachulia, do not expect Varejao to be receiving a lot of playing time next season. Golden State is expected to play a lot of smaller lineups next season, as head coach Steve Kerr knows that his most talented players are perimeter based guys.

The starting lineup for the Warriors is expected to consist of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Durant, Draymond Green and Pachulia. Andre Iguodala is expected to receive a good amount of playing time, so Pachulia could only be a nominal starter.

Durant is going to start at small forward, but he is expected to spend a good amount of time at power forward. That means that Green, the starting power forward, will be spending a lot of time at the center position, where he is unusually effective.

That doesn’t leave a lot of time for backup big men to get on the court for the Warriors. West and Varejao will be lucky if they can even combine for 20 minutes a game. There might not even be 30 minutes combined for the trio of West, Varejao and Pachulia.

Nonetheless, Varejao just wants to be part of the ride. If he can help, then he will.

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