Anderson Varejao is back in Cleveland.. not a minute too soon

It's been quite a tumultuous offseason for the Cavs' Anderson Varejao, to say the least.

First, you have the departure of LeBron James.  In case you didn't watch the two of them play last season, Varejao was the benefactor of hundreds of easy backdoor passes for layups (courtesy of LeBron.) 

The departure of the King will hurt Varejao in more ways than one, as now he must look to create his own shot.  Andy's jumper has never been his best skill, but we did see a lot of improvement with it last season.  The Cavaliers will need him to be the player he's capable of, and soon.

So the biggest star in Cleveland sports history heads South, and that's just the start for Varejao.  Anderson decides to play for team Brazil in the 2010 FIBA World Championships.  Two things would come of this.

For starters, Varejao did not look to be himself, and in the one game I watched, he appeared to be beaten consistently on the defensive side of the ball. 

Next, Anderson goes down in what could have been a bad injury to his ankle.  Reports would later surface that this injury was only minor, and Varejao would not miss any significant time at the start of the NBA season.  At least one thing went our way this offseason.

And then just over two weeks ago, another bombshell in Varejao's life;  His grandfather whom he was very close with passed away in Brazil.  Byron Scott and the rest of the organization was very sensitive to this and told Varejao to forget training camp, go be with your family.  So Anderson flies to Brazil, and misses what arguably was the most important time for the Cavaliers before the season.  Daniel Gibson after the first day of training camp, andhow the hard work and running will translate for the team,

"It was very tough, but man I know that's going to bring us closer together.  It's got to."

The rest of the team went through probably the toughest conditioning test of their lives in the first few days of Scott's camp.  This may hurt Varejao in terms of developing chemistry with his teammates, but they certainly understand the situation he was in.

Considering all the things that have happened, the Cavaliers could not be happier to have Anderson back in Cleveland.  It's been well chronicled that we are lacking a strong presence in the post, as well as consistent rebounding.  While Andy might still be somewhat limited offensively, his energy and effort will go a long way for the Cavs this season.

Think about it.  Scott wants this team to run, and he's likely going to have to play small until we bring someone else in at the Center position.  For Anderson, that means he will consistently be starting for the first time in his career, as he was used to coming off the bench in his time under Mike Brown.  Even Scott has said that he would prefer Varejao to be that valuable spark off the bench, but the current circumstances won't allow that to happen.

The Cavaliers need Andy to come up huge this season;  His veteran leadership will go a long way in mentoring some of the young talent we have on the roster.  You don't lead the NBA in plus-minus by chance, and Varejao will have to do that and more for this team to be successful. 

One could easily make a case that in terms of getting under the opponent's skin, Varejao takes the cake.  When he's on the other team, you can't stand him.  When he's a Cavalier, you love him.  I'm just glad he's back in Cleveland.