We signed VAREJAO!!!!

[ammofan]

Dont get too excited though......It is an offer sheet and the Cavs can match it. But is they dont.....he is ours! Finally a true big man.

[bobcatsden]

What a coup this would be. I recognize it's the longest of longshots, but Varejao would solve so many of our problems...

[ohara831]

I wish they would have done this before Season began! 3 yr. at less than 6 mil/yr is good for him. Question is, who will we release if Cavs do not match offer?

[ohara831]

Oh well, they will match the offer, no doubt. They had previously offered him 3 yr around $20 mil and he rejected it. The articles I read say this is just the agent doing the Bobcats a favor so it looks like we are doing something to address our needs. Cavs will match our offer since they have already offered more. Just a BullSh-t game the agent and our mgmnt are doing! Also, once they match the offer, the Bobcats and Cavs are prohibited from doing a sign and trade. We will not get him - period, unless Cavs just give him away like this and Danny Ferry is not that stupid.

[ammofan]

If he does come to us hopefully Othella will be cut!

[Wallace15]

If he does come to us hopefully Othella will be cut!


No doubt, Harrington will be the one cut, but I really don't think it matters because Cleveland will more than likely match the offer sheet. So, when it's all said and done we'll still have no inside help besides Emeka.

[professajohnn]

if theres any way we can get to Danny Ferry and keep him from talking for a week that would be great :biggrin:

[bizzlecatz]

Oh well, they will match the offer, no doubt. They had previously offered him 3 yr around $20 mil and he rejected it. The articles I read say this is just the agent doing the Bobcats a favor so it looks like we are doing something to address our needs. Cavs will match our offer since they have already offered more. Just a BullSh-t game the agent and our mgmnt are doing! Also, once they match the offer, the Bobcats and Cavs are prohibited from doing a sign and trade. We will not get him - period, unless Cavs just give him away like this and Danny Ferry is not that stupid.


Dan Fagan is not stupid either. He and Michael Jordan have a connection, but I doubt if he is doing the bobcats a favor.

Varejao stated publicly, that he didnot want to return to the Cavs last week, so I guess thats all hot air too.

We don't know what amount was offered in the contract, so who's to say we are not calling Cleveland's bluff.

You heard it hear first. Varejao will be a Bobcat next week.

[Mustachio]

Sign and Trade. Primoz and Hermann for Andy and Damon Jones.

i would be a happy happy man.

[Mustachio]

i also agree bizzlecat.... that we cant rule this out. because no one knows how much we offered.

The only thing we know is... Cleveland offered a one year 1.2 qualifying offer. Varejao declined. Verejao offered 6 years 52 million. thats 8.2 milly a year. Cleveland declined.

So we know that AV and Cleveland arent even close to a deal. A MLE is 5.5 mil a year i think. So it is quite legitimate to think that we may have offered 5 years 33 Million. which is 6.6 Above the MLE and more than Cleveland can or would wanna match.

id definetly pay 6.6 for a big man that hustles at this points. dont forget dropping Harringtons contract so that frees up like 3 mil or something.

[Mustachio]

scratch that....

ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported the offer sheet is worth $17.4 million, which would fit the Bobcats' mid-level salary cap exception.
According to ESPN.com's Chad Ford, the offer sheet includes an opt-out clause after year two, meaning Varejao could be a free agent again in the summer of 2009.

what say ye?

[Mustachio]

looks like cleveland will match... may have just forced their hand some.

its 5.8 a year and cleveland was offering a one year deal for 1.2 mil.

so cleveland will match or we get a big body for under 6 million a year. not a bad deal for us either way. It either puts a big body on our team that we desperately need for not too much... or straps Cleveland for more cash than they wanted to get rid of.

[ReesieNCPantherCatfan1]

Anybody know how long CLE has to match? I know it is probably a facade from the bobcats front office, but I REALLY hope CLE pissed in Varejao's corn flakes enough that he says he wont play there and ferry doesn't match. We need some big men, and he would certainly be worth it at 3 years 17 mil. Ive got my fingers crossed.

[Mustachio]

they have 7 days. I never liked him and he isnt a natural talent or anything.

but having a big man, that hustles and does all the little things will at least fill half of a need for us and for under 6 a year... i guess it will do. i do think this is just a posturing move though. cleveland will match

[davcbow]

Things could be rather interesting in the Bobcats camp. We need to do something could we be saying goodbye to Othella? :g:

[bizzlecatz]

Call me whatever, but I don't think Cleveland will match, because that would put them over the Lux Tax.

Matching Varejao would be paying 10 mil a year.

It's a gamble I think we will win.

[ReesieNCPantherCatfan1]

I hope you are right, as evidenced the last week we need someone to get boards. I am not sure if re-signing your own players can put you over the luxury tax, I know teams can use their "larry bird" rights to go over the salary cap. It would be nice if it does count against the luxury tax and we get him next week though. Losing may might not hurt as much.

Call me whatever, but I don't think Cleveland will match, because that would put them over the Lux Tax.

Matching Varejao would be paying 10 mil a year.

It's a gamble I think we will win.

[bizzlecatz]

I hope you are right, as evidenced the last week we need someone to get boards. I am not sure if re-signing your own players can put you over the luxury tax, I know teams can use their "larry bird" rights to go over the salary cap. It would be nice if it does count against the luxury tax and we get him next week though. Losing may might not hurt as much.

Call me whatever, but I don't think Cleveland will match, because that would put them over the Lux Tax.

Matching Varejao would be paying 10 mil a year.

It's a gamble I think we will win.





I am trying to understand this myself,but according to Cleveland fans they are only 4-5 mil under the cap, so I'm guessing, matching Varejao would put them into Lux Tax, being that they cannot use the full MLE, but I could be wrong, and I stand corrected. :)

[123together]

i think cleveland was going to match it. it was only 3 years $17.4 million the size of the cats midevel exception. thats what varejao is worth, hopefully he'll realize that but no matter what he'll be playing within a week for someone.

[spectre]

According to Sham Sports the Cavs have over 70 million going out already in player salaries. The luxury tax limit is approx. 68 million, so for every dollar their payroll is over that they have to pay another dollar in penalty. Right now they're looking at a 2 million dollar penalty.

If they match our offer they will 1) have to cut a player and 2) pay dollar for dollar in penalties for Varejao's salary...making the cost to the Cavs around 35 million for 3 years.

That's a lot of bucks for someone they don't consider a starter.

[TheBeagle]

I appreciate you guys doing all this boning-up on contract rules and other GM legalese because it's too much math and legality to pique my interest to do any research on.

On the surface, I was upset to see we're trying to acquire more mediocre talent, and be committed to him for 3 years, which could really screw around with any potential FA signing this off-season (Re: Antawn). This guy could be a factor in winning maybe 5 or 6 more games this season than we would without him, but that still wouldn't put us in the playoff hunt, and is only a short-term solution, not a long-term fix......but

the way you guys are interpreting it, with the numbers and figures and such, it's not so much money that would affect our FA signings this summer. In that sense, I hope the deal does go through, because any sane person would take Varejao over Harrington; plus, the guy does provide energy, which is what we are despertely lacking. And (I'm channeling some long-dormant optimism here) this could be the shot in the arm the team needs, and will blow all of my dismal predictions out of the water!!

Thanks to you guys, I now hope the deal goes through!!

[spectre]

Beagle from what I've learned today I don't think we'd have had the money to sign Jamison unless it was for a MLE deal.  Including exceptions technically we were already over the cap, as until they are renounced they count against.  I was under the impression only teams over get the mid level exception, but after looking at the FAQ ALL teams get it.

Basically that means we have the MLE (and that's all) which we just offered to Varejao and we'll have the MLE next year to offer Jamison or another FA.  Granted if we lose expirings that are MORE than the MLE (and assuming we're still under the cap) we could renounce it and then make a move, but if I remember right our expirings only equal to around 6 million.

In short...we should strike while the iron's hot.

[Muttley]

I'm channeling some long-dormant optimism here


It still exists!

Yeah, I'm no AV fan, but if he can spark this team with his energy, I'm all for him for what we're offering. In a choice (or a footrace) between him and The Big OH, it's AV all day.

I just hope it's not just some weird ploy to act the role of "Front-office-desire-to-make-change."

[ReesieNCPantherCatfan1]

Just read the article on ESPN.com, and it says according to an inside source that Cleveland will match it. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3141032

Too bad we didn't put in a "poison pill" in the contract since he is a restricted free agent. I remeber the Panthers lost Chad Cota to the saints about 10 years ago when he was a restricted free agent because of a poison pill clause in his contract. We should've added an clause to Varejao's contract that pays him a huge bonus if he plays more than 40% of his games in Ohio, something they are sure not to match. (if thats allowed in the NBA, not sure)

I saw he only averaged 6.2 points and 6.8 boards a game last year, so he's not worth what he was asking cleveland, but he would be better than what we have now (primoz and harrington)

[ALong13]

I'd definitely prefer him over Harrington or Primoz. I just don't see him coming in, and sadly see him playing in Cleveland again, he'd help us in rebounding sure, and IMO would be a starter, but I don't see why the Cavs wouldn't match him...

[MattD]

ray
jrich
crash
varejao
oak

better then what we had before significantly... maybe, just maybe?

[davcbow]

Here are some articles I found about the offer....

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCLXKD--JLCgay6j1FOYacaDemoA

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/nbanews.asp?articleID=218709

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_7632663?nclick_check=1

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jyZEVYGpo-PG9O0QQN0FWtjsYnZw

read away. I give us a 50-50 chance the ball is in Clevelands court.... :g:

[ALong13]

In the Seattle Post link, Vincent sounds excited like he knows the Cavs aren't going to match, I'm still thinking they'll match though sadly...but I would like to see Varejao in a Cat uniform playing PF...

[twebb]

I am hoping CLE will match so we dont have to get him on our team. He is one of my least favorite players and will only make other teams hate us more

[qchoops]

Yeah - we signed Varejao - for Cleveland. They can match any offer despite the salary cap...and since LeBron has already stated publicly that he wants Andy back, anyone thinking the Cavs don't match is a Bobcats fan.

Merry Christmas, Danny Ferry.
Thanks for helping us look like we were doing something to address the shortcomings of our team.
Signed,
MJ and Rod

[Dead_Real]

I have my fingers crossed that this move goes down and we get AV by the end of the week or next week at the latest. The only thing that sucks is that I wish this move would have happened earlier this season when it was first confirmed that May would miss the entire season, but it's better late than never with us making a move to improve our depleted big man situation.

I like the look of this...

Ray
J-Rich
Wallace
Varejao
Emeka

Jeff
Hammer
Dudley
Fabio
Hollins

[twebb]

One thing this signing does provide is the bobcat's first legit starting five

[dvdbumpus]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nba_experts/post/Give-Ferry-credit-for-Varejao-victory;_ylt=AkSd9op2m34OQKhC.mnUeSy8vLYF?urn=nba, 56227

Looks like Cleveland plans to match it...

[MattD]

so after reading that I realize that we werent doing anything more then making the agent and Ferry happy (Fegan still makes some money and gets anderson out of his hair). Nice way to go charlotte, lets be the bitch franchise, I hope we get something back in exchange, otherwise, well we are tools... its not necessarily the management that is so terrible, it all goes back to the ownership, I wish we had a different owner and then of course different management.

[timang]

if this doesn't push through... i guess i'd take it as a sign that we ARE actually looking for a big. still a good thing right?

[davcbow]

if this doesn't push through... i guess i'd take it as a sign that we ARE actually looking for a big. still a good thing right?


You think? :biggrin:

[Alex]

Wow the people in the offices are alive!!

[davcbow]

Odds look like he will still be a Cav....

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19084838&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21848&rfi=6

Bummer.... :g:

[TheBeagle]

This is totally bewildering ??? ??? ???

This seems to be nothing but a spite contest:

1. Ferry hates AV's agent.
2. AV hates Ferry.
3. Ferry/Cavs don't seem to really want him, otherwise why be so happy about getting him for 2 years, then letting him go on his merry way when he opts out.
4. From the article Bumpus pasted, Ferry made AV's agent look like an ass, so Av's agent also probably hates Ferry.

Yet all of these points somehow add up to the conclusion that AV'll be playing for the Cavs next week.

What a fucked-up world we live in when a guy is being paid millions by an organization that doesn't really want him with the only logical reason being spite!! If I didn't know any better, I'd swear George Costanza was behind this somehow :wink:

[tamburello]

As twebb and Mustaciho, I simply hate Varejao, he did so many scrappy plays with his national team against Turkey and many other countries.

But... I have to support this decision. No need to mention our desparate need to big men, he can be a relatively good solution to our problems under the boards.

By the way, I guess Cavs will "definitely" match this offer. They didn't make a great start to the season, they miss Varejao so much. Like it or not, that team made NBA finals last year and Varejao was an integral part of that success. They cannot afford to lose him for nothing. Sign-and-trade was out of consideration, since he'll count a base year player whenever he signs. If they sign AV, they would have the chance to play Eastern finals.

Yes, lux-tax business would make them reluctant to match it, but that would be the same stupid manner as Hornets did with Mourning a decade ago. If you have an Eastern champion team and if you have the chance to keep them together, you have to do it.

Cavs also have 15 players under contract, if they match they'd have to release a player. It'd be probably Demetris Nichols.

I think Rod Higgins is making other phone calls at the moment. I don't think he 100% regards AV as Bobcats' latest player. He did what he should do, but nothing has changed.

[timang]

this gives me a bad bad case of false hope. *sighs*

[davcbow]

To tell you the truth I think our management went into it knowing they would match the offer but they had to try to make fans think they are making an effort. They got to realize no team is simply going to hand away a good big with a mid level offer when Cleveland's original offer was by far a better deal. If we were really serious about getting him they would have bettered Cleveland's original offer. Ive just about accepted we will be a lottery team unless something drastic is done before trade deadline. :g: