The Deadline deal that the Wine and Gold made on Thursday afternoon wasn’t a massive move. But it was a difficult one.
Just hours before the Trade Deadline passed, the Cavaliers dealt 12-year veteran Anderson Varejao – the longest-tenured athlete in Cleveland – along with a conditional first round pick in 2018 to the Trail Blazers in exchange for a second round pick. The Cavaliers then traded that pick, along with Jared Cunningham, to the Magic in exchange for Channing Frye.
Frye, in his 10th season out of Arizona, comes to the Cavaliers having played in 44 games for the Magic this year – starting 29 and averaging 5.2 points and 3.2 boards in just over 17 minutes per.
This season, Frye is shooting .397 from beyond the arc, where he’s gone .387 for his career. The 6-11 forward has logged 701 games for New York, Portland, Phoenix and Orlando after being taken with the 8th overall pick by the Knicks in 2005. Frye had his best season with Phoenix in 2010-11 when he averaged 12.7 points and 6.7 boards
The very definition of a “stretch-4,” Frye comes to Cleveland averaging 9.3 points and 4.9 boards for his career. He played all 82 games for the Suns in 2013-14 and, over the past two years, has shot better than 40 percent from long-distance on catch-and-shoot threes. In terms of being a floor-spacer, Frye is the perfect fit.
“Considering the way we play, with Kyrie and LeBron running a lot of pick-and-rolls trying to keep the floor spread, I think Channing Frye gives us that,” said Tyronn Lue before Thursday’s matchup with Chicago. “But also being seven-foot, he can be a great post defender and he’s not afraid to get his nose dirty, so he’s definitely somebody when can use going forward.”
Varejao leaves as one of the franchise’s all-time fan favorites and only six Cavaliers have ever logged more games in the wine and gold than “the Wild Thing.” But after starting the first 26 games of last season, Varejao struggled to get into the rotation this year – averaging a career-low 10.0 minutes per contest.
Before playing a season-high 27 minutes last Saturday night against the Pelicans, Andy was a DNP-CD in 14 of Cleveland’s 18 previous games. Through it all, the man who arrived in a deal with the Magic as a virtual throw-in as the top pick of the second round in 2004 maintained his trademark smile and sense of humor.
Cavs acquire Channing Frye.
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“It’s gonna be tough on me – just knowing what Andy brought to this organization, what he meant to the fan base here,” added Lue. “Every time I called his number he was ready to play. And just having those types of guys around: professional, always smiling, in a good mood, always holding other guys accountable. That’s just a great guy to have around and it’s a hard guy to lose.”
He departs the Cavaliers ranked 3rd all-time in offensive rebounds (1,479), 5th in defensive rebounds (2,955), 5th in overall rebounds (4,434), 7th in games played (591), tied for 7th in blocks (397), 8th in steals (529).
“It was a very difficult phone call to have, there’s very little I’ve enjoyed less in my personal career than letting (Varejao) know he was traded,” admitted Cavs GM David Griffin. “At the same time, what we have done is added a player who furthers our cause. We feel very strongly that we’ve added a great fit for what we’re trying to do – both on the court and off – from a floor-spacing standpoint and a defensive versatility standpoint. And frankly just in terms of knowing exactly what he needs to do and what his role is going to be.”
For the second time in a one-month span – coincidentally lodged between a home win over an L.A. team and a nationally-televised home game against Chicago – Griffin has had to make an extremely tough call.
With his wild locks and relentless style of play, Varejao quickly became a fan favorite. He remained one despite an injury-plagued run over a three-year span. It won’t be easy to erase his imprint on the organization.
But there’s an old sports quote that says “winning cures everything.”
Griffin’s first difficult move turned into Tyronn Lue winning eight of his last 10 games and keeping his club atop the Eastern Conference. Keeping that roll going will eventually ease the pain that comes with losing one of the franchise’s most beloved figures.