Warriors cut Anderson Varejao, reportedly signing D-league star Briante Weber
The guard was the D-League's player of the month for January
The Golden State Warriors have waived center Anderson Varejao, the team announced Friday. They will use his roster spot to sign guard Briante Weber, the NBA D-League's player of the month in January, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Varejao, 34, joined the Warriors last February and re-signed with them on a one-year deal in the summer. He has played only 92 total minutes this season, though, squeezed out of a frontcourt rotation that includes Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, David West, James Michael McAdoo, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones. For the simple purpose of roster balance, replacing Varejao with a guard makes sense. He simply lacked the athleticism and quickness that made him an excellent defender and energy guy earlier in his career.
Weber, 24, spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat last season, but has spent this year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He is a quick, defensive-minded point guard and he has made 37.5 percent of his career 3-pointers in the D-League. The Heat tried to bring him back, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman, but he chose the chance to be a part of a superteam. Weber was named the D-League's player of the month for January on Wednesday, a day after he came close to recording a quadruple-double with 18 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and nine steals against the Oklahoma City Blue.
Golden State hasn't had a speedy guard coming off the bench since letting Leandro Barbosa walk in free agency last summer. He fills a need, and if Shaun Livingston continues to deal with the mid-back strain that has kept him out of the Warriors' last two games, Weber should see minutes immediately. Another bonus: He might have been the playmaker the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for, and simply keeping him away from them should be considered a win.
















