Tuesday, November 6, 2007

My other favorite rebounder

Over at SI.com today, Marty Burns was all over the Anderson Varejao story. (By that, I mean that he was clearly the reporter chosen by Varejao's camp to receive a leak to try and push his negotiations with the Cavaliers towards a resolution.) First, Burns posts an article quoting people "close to" Varejao saying that he would be willing to accept a $5 million, one year deal instead of the bigger money, longer term deal he was seeking. Such a deal would allow Varejao to become an unrestricted free agent next year, instead of the restricted free agent he is currently. Now, just a few hours later, Burns is back with an article basically saying the Cavaliers response was "thanks, but no thanks."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Why don't the Sixers make Varejao an offer? If Varejao is really willing to sign for close to the mid-level exception for one year, the Sixers have nothing to lose by making the offer. If the Cavs match, then nothing has been lost (unless the Sixers really think Varejao and the Cavaliers won't reach an agreement, and that the Cavaliers will fall below the Sixers in the playoff race without him...). If the Cavaliers don't match, then the Sixers have a superb rebounder/defender to help out their frontcourt this year. Plus, I think they'd have the inside track on re-signing him for next year. I really wish someone could explain to me why the Sixers (or some other team) isn't making this offer right now.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't speak to the sixers lack of interest in Varejo but, according to the NY Time's game recap, there is no Philadelphia interest in the sixers
"The Sixers blew the game open in the second quarter and built a 20-point lead in front of about 6,000 fans." Six thousand fans is pathetic. High School foofball games draw larger crowds. Temple football draws larger crowds. The Philadelphia Wings draw larger crowds. This low attendance does not bode well for the organization.

Sam Cohen said...

I think the recap in the Philly papers gave a slightly higher attendance figure--maybe something like 9,000. Still, not good. That said, I think winning will change things. The Sixers haven't been good for awhile, and they have no buzz. If they're in the playoff chase at the All-star break, then I'd expect attendance to pick up considerably.

Unknown said...

If they are still drawing between 6,000 and 9,000 by the playoff break I wouldn’t be surprised if they rented out the Wachovia Center to larger events and moved the 76ers games to the Pallestra. In there at least the players won’t feel like they are playing in an empty venue.