The Cleveland Cavaliers made a curious late-season move on Sunday, waiving guard DeAndre Liggins just hours before their scheduled game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Liggins made the trip to Atlanta with the team, and was reportedly informed on Sunday morning by Cavs general manager David Griffin that he had been let go.
This opens up a roster spot for the Cavs, who must sign a player by the last day of the regular season (Wednesday) in order for him to be eligible for the playoffs. Speculation has already begun about who Cleveland will add, with Cleveland.com reporting that the defending champions have their eyes on a familiar face -- center Anderson Varejao.
After spending his first 11 seasons with the Cavs, Varejao was part of a three-team deal in February of 2016 that saw him land with the Portland Trail Blazers, who quickly waived him. He was then signed by the Golden State Warriors, who used the big man sparingly until waiving him earlier this season. He last saw game action on February 2.
The Cavs clearly aren’t impressed by center Larry Sanders, who hasn’t been playing much even in the absence of starter Tristan Thompson, so the idea of picking up another big man might be appealing. With the healthy return of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to go along with Kyrie Irving, Kyle Korver and Deron Williams, the Cavs don’t seem to have much need for another guard.
Varejao might not bring the best of luck, however. He lost to the Warriors with the Cavs in the 2015 Finals (even though he didn’t play), then lost to the Cavs with the Warriors in last year’s Finals.
Irving has been dealing with a sore knee, so the Cavs could add another guard as a contingency in case Irving is forced to miss time in the playoffs.