Shawn Marion traded/Anderson Varejao resigned

Marion traded to Dallas in four way deal.

While this deal makes Dallas better for the moment, does it really put them over the top? I think this deal could potentially make Dallas the 4th best team in the conference behind the Lakers, Spurs and Nuggets. Marion, while his statistics took a precipitous dip without Steve Nash, is still a versatile player who can guard multiple positions, run the floor and finish. Marion can also guard PGs, which helps since Jason Kidd can't stay in front of the quicker PGs in the league.

I think Dallas is right in the middle right now, in between being serious title contenders and being a lottery team. It's that kind of "basketball purgatory" that can lead to long periods of futility as in most cases, the GM tries to add little pieces that really don't get the team any closer to a title but "show the fans that they are serious". Ultimately the team comes close but never wins, and as a result get no premium draft picks out of it. It was a good move for Dallas for the moment since they gave up nothing, but 3 or 4 years from now, it probably won't look as good. Marion isn't the type of player that SIGNIFICANTLY boosts your championship chances as his own entity.

Cleveland signs Anderson Varejao (6 years, $50 million).

This seems like a lot of money to pay for someone who has little to no offensive game. I am not trying to say basketball is all about offense because it is not but unless you are Ben Wallace (in his prime), or someone like a Dwight Howard, how many people are really worth this much based on what they do defensively and energy wise alone? I know LeBron James loves the guy but does he really love him that much? Now Cleveland has, in essence, taken themselves out of the 2010 FA bonanza in the name of giving big money to Anderson Varejao.

The only logic I can see to defend the deal is the decrease in cap this year and the potential for a bigger drop in cap next year, so they wanted to keep someone they liked. Other than that, it's somewhat baffling especially considering that he wasn't likely to get that from any other team so the Cavs essentially bid against themselves. "Hustle players" who can rebound and defend are a necessity on most basketball teams, but paying them that much money is somewhat detrimental to the long term, continued success of the team. Of course though, they could have let him go, then watched the cap shrink $3-5 million next season, and end up with neither Varejao or a big FA. Also taking into consideration the Cavs lack of depth among the front court, and lack of options for a starting power forward, Varejao had leverage in that regard. All in all though, I think the Cavs will regret that deal.