David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Trade talks surrounding Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao have been gaining steam ever since he decided he was going to have a career year this season.

Varejao is leading the league in rebounding this year averaging 14.4 boards per game to go with 14.1 points and 3.4 assists.

The idea the Cavaliers have is trading the 30-year old veteran to a contender in need and capitalize on his sky rocketing trade value this season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not come out and said anything about the possibilities of a Varejao trade but they are definitely the type of team that could be a major player with the assets they have.

The Thunder could package Kendrick Perkins along with Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb or Eric Maynor as well as a few of the three 2013 first round draft picks they possess.

As much as a Varejao trade makes sense for the Thunder, there is a very low chance of it happening.

If there is one thing we have learned about the Thunder, it’s that they stick to their guns. Right now, that means Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins basically shouldn’t be playing for the Thunder as far as statistics go. He’s one of the worst offensive big men in the league and defensively his impact is being lost as the Thunder’s small lineups perform just as well as when he’s on the floor.

But the impact Perkins makes as a leader and in the locker room is valued very much by the Thunder. That’s why he still plays so much and that’s why that’s not going to change any time soon.

The other part of this trade that makes it very unlikely is the Thunder’s hypothetical unloading of assets.

When the Thunder made the very tough decision to trade James Harden before the start of this season, it was partly made easier because they were now going to have all of these assets and be set for the next decade to form a contender year after year.

The Thunder didn’t trade Harden to get assets that they can flip into a 30-year old center having a career year this season. That’s just the truth and the Thunder aren’t going to abandon their plan anytime soon.

At the end of the day, Varejao just isn’t a big enough piece right now for the Thunder to pursue, especially when they are already happy with Perkins, as hard as that can be to believe.

There are newer rumors out there saying that if the Thunder are to consider making a trade this season, it would be for a bigger, younger name like Atlanta’s Josh Smith or even Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins. But both of those scenarios seem even more unlikely than Varejao right now since keeping either long-term would be near impossible for OKC.

It’s fun to think of trades that can help your team but the Thunder aren’t a team looking to overhaul anything right now. They have close to the best record in the league, the most efficient offense in the league and an improving defense nearing elite. That’s good enough for now and might even be good enough for a title this year.

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest trade targets this season is Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao. Varejao is playing the best basketball of his career, looking like an All-Star averaging 14.0 points and 14.9 rebounds per game so far this season.

But the Cavaliers aren’t winning and with Varejao playing this well, they may be interested in capitalizing on the high trade value Varejao now possesses and send him to a contender.

The Oklahoma City Thunder make sense as a possible destination for Varejao, although they haven’t come out and said they are interested or not yet.

The Cavs, sources say, want multiple young assets in return for the 30-year-old, who is averaging 14.3 points and 14.8 rebounds and possesses a very manageable contract that calls for Varejao to receive $9.1 million next season with a $9.8 million team option in 2014-15. The Thunder are the rare title contender also blessed with the sort of youth/stashed draft picks to appeal to Cleveland, but sources say OKC has shown little interest to date.

via ESPN.com

A potential trade between the Thunder and Cavaliers involving Varejao would have to include Thunder center Kendrick Perkins to match up the salaries. The Thunder then also have rookies Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III who the Cavs might be interested in as well as multiple first round draft picks next year.

It would be the kind of move that would really help the Thunder this year and the next few. Part of the plan in trading James Harden before the start of the season was to ensure the Thunder could be a contender for the next decade by stockpiling young talent and draft picks.

Trading for Varejao like this would go against that philosophy somewhat.

But it is an opportunity that the Thunder definitely need to think about. OKC has the best record in the league right now and would definitely be the NBA title favorite if they could essentially swap Perkins for Varejao. They wouldn’t have to worry about the Lakers (not that they are right now anyway) and they would be better suited to match up with the Spurs, Heat, Clippers and Grizzlies.

Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Anderson Varejao has been playing the best basketball of his career this season. At age 30, he’s averaging career-highs in points (15.1) and rebounds per game (15.3).

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not winning games though. They are just 4-12 on the season so far and their best player, Kyrie Irving, has missed the last six games with an injury.

The Cavaliers are in a situation where they have to make a decision on what to do with Varejao, whose trade value is soaring through the roof right now.

Varejao has three years left on his contract and any team would love to have him so it would be hard for the Cavaliers to let him go. But with playoff berths seemingly a long way away, capitalizing on trading Varejao now might be a good idea.

One team that could use Varejao and offer Cleveland a good deal in exchange for him is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder would have to deal Kendrick Perkins in any package for Varejao and they also have young talented rookie in Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III to include in a deal as well as three first round draft picks and Charlotte’s second-round draft pick next year. Maybe the Cavaliers can also throw in Daniel Gibson who is in the final year of his contract to sweeten the deal for OKC.

If the Cavaliers commit to the idea of trading Varejao, this would be a pretty good return for him. They already have young talent in Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller. If they could add Lamb or Jones III and get some draft picks as well, that’s a decent haul.

The Thunder obviously wouldn’t say no to exchanging Perkins for Varejao no matter how much everyone in OKC loves Perkins. Varejao is a better defender especially in the pick-and-roll and can give a lot more offense as well without needing the ball.

The tough decision is whether the Thunder would also be willing to trade Jones III or Lamb or both as well. Part of the Thunder’s plan in trading James Harden this season was being ready to compete for a title for years to come and having young talent on the roster is a big part of that.

The Thunder could be in a tough spot if they have to give up Lamb in this potential trade and they also are unable to re-sign Kevin Martin after the season. After this year, the bench unit would take a major hit in terms of its scoring punch and the Thunder would have to find a way to replace that.

But acquiring Varejao would be just too good to pass up if it could be possible for the Thunder. The Thunder are already big time title contenders right now and Varejao would make them the favorites in the Western Conference for sure.

There would be an end to the stagnant offense from OKC’s starting five by exchanging Perkins for Varejao and the Thunder would likely turn into an absolute monster on both ends of the floor.

You can even imagine Varejao being a much better fit vs. the Miami Heat in a potential NBA Finals matchup. He’s so active on defense that the Thunder wouldn’t have to worry as much about the Heat’s small ball.

You can’t say this would guarantee the Thunder winning a title but it would be the closest they could get to that.

So the Thunder would get Varejao for this season and the next two. After that, it might be tough keeping him but at the age of 33 by that time, Varejao seems like the kind of guy who would take less money to stay in OKC especially if the Thunder have won a title or two by that time.

Right now the Thunder are saying they are not interested in making a trade this season. That makes sense since they have started the year off so great but if an opportunity like this presents itself, GM Sam Presti has proven he is willing to pull the trigger quickly on deals he likes.

Varejao has always been a player that would seemingly be a perfect fit with the Thunder. To think they may actually have a chance of acquiring him now during a time where he is playing so well is scary to think about.

Leandro Barbosa made a 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining to cut Argentina’s lead to just three. Brazil had nothing else left in the tank though as Argentina made their free throws down the stretch and a few desperation threes did not fall.

Barbosa scored 22 points for Brazil and made four 3-pointers. Point guard Marcelinho Huertas came out firing for Brazil as well notching 22 points to go with four assists.

Luis Scola continued his strong play for Argentina leading them with 17 points. Carlos Delfino was on the mark with his jumper making three 3-pointers and totaling 16 points.

The game was controlled by the point guards and while Huertas finished with more points, Argentina’s Pablo Prigioni played big minutes for Argentina and led them with six assists. Prigioni did not play in Argentina’s last game when they lost to Team USA.

The game was close in almost every facet but where Brazil came up short was in taking advantage of their size. Nene had seven points and 12 rebounds, Tiago Splitter had just six points and Anderson Varejao four.

Brazil also shot only 50 percent from the free throw line and was outrebounded by Argentina.

Argentina advances to the semifinal round and will await the winner of the United States and Australia quarterfinal matchup today.

Team USA is heavily favored to win and if they do, will play Argentina for the third time in the past few weeks. The U.S. beat Argentina by six in an exhibition game before the Olympics then ran away in their last game of pool play vs. Argentina.

The winner of Argentina-Brazil will go on to play the winner of USA-Australia in the semifinal round on Friday.

Brazil is the 2-seed from Pool B and Argentina the 3-seed from Pool A in this matchup. Brazil lost to Russia in pool play then beat Spain in the final game of pool play in a game that no one wanted to win.

Argentina was upset by France early in pool play and then lost their final game of pool play vs. the U.S.

Each of these two South American teams has a large cast of NBA talent on their rosters. Argentina is led by Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino and Brazil Nene, Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.

Argentina has had more success in international play in the past, winning the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and beating the United States in the process. Brazil is yet to have that kind of success but this may be their year as they are as talented as ever.

Both teams play a similar style reliant on the pick-and-roll game to get most of their offense. Brazil’s point guard Marcelinho Huertas is a magician in the pick-and-roll and combined with Brazil’s size advantage should have a nice game today.

Brazil will have trouble matching up with Ginobili and Argentina is the better outside shooting team, which they will need to rely on to win this one.

Scola has been a monster in the Olympics so far averaging 20.2 points per game to lead Argentina and he will need to be big vs. Brazil. Brazil has the bodies to contend with Scola but he is good enough to get them in some foul trouble and still have a big game.

If Argentina can get hot from deep it will open up the lane some where they can hurt Brazil with their great interior passing and Scola’s ability to finish with crafty shots in the paint.

Brazil would also like to shoot well from three and Barbosa is the most likely man to do it. He is shooting just .348 percent from three so far in the Olympics but is capable of a much better night at any time.

This game will be as good as any we’ve seen in the Olympics so far. It’s a rivalry with two teams who are playing pretty good basketball right now.

The edge in experience may go to Argentina but Brazil is more than capable of winning this one and it should go down to the wire.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Who wants to lose more?

Spain and Brazil will play today at 3 p.m. EST and neither team will be better off winning the game.

The winner of the game will come out of Pool B as the 2-seed in the same bracket where Team USA will likely be the 1-seed and Argentina the 3-seed. The loser will get to be in the bracket where Russia and France are the top seeds.

This game will be very interesting and don’t be surprised if players like Pau Gasol or Leandro Barbosa aren’t playing as many minutes as they could.

Spain and Brazil are both 3-1 in pool play so far with both losing close games to Russia. Spain and Brazil are two of the biggest threats to the United States in these Olympics and would both love to not see the mighty U.S. until a potential gold medal game.

A big reason why these teams matchup so well with Team USA is that they both have NBA size. Spain featured the Gasol brothers as well as Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes. Brazil has Nene, Anderson Varejao and Tiago Splitter in their corner.

The point guard position is a strength for both Spain and Brazil as well. Spain starts Jose Calderon and brings Juan Carlos Navarro off the bench. Brazil has maybe the best point guard not in the NBA in Marcelinho Huertas who is averaging 11.0 points and 6.2 assists per game in the Olympics.

This matchup is a very close one that is only hard to predict today because both teams could very well be trying to lose. If they both were trying to win however, Spain has to have the slight edge but it is real close.

Pau Gasol is averaging 19.5 points per game so far in the Olympics and looks very comfortable in his clear alpha dog role with Spain. Rudy Fernandez has played pretty well too averaging 10.8 points per game and Spain is just a little more balanced and experienced than Brazil.

Barbosa is leading Brazil averaging 13.0 points per game while Splitter is averaging 12.0. They don’t have quite the same outside shooting ability that Spain does which could very well be the difference in this matchup.

It’s kind of hard to say what to expect with this game later today. The Olympics are all about competition but we might not see that exactly today with this game. Ultimately every team wants to win a gold medal and if losing first betters those chances than there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with that.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic are still working on a deal that would send Dwight Howard to L.A.

Howard, who previously said the Brooklyn Nets was the only team he would extend with beyond next season, is now committed to an extension with the Lakers as well, according to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

The potential trade between the Lakers and Magic would more than likely have to involve a third team. Right now the team trying to be the third wheel in a Howard deal is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the potential trade between these three teams, the Cavaliers would receive Bynum and the Magic would get Anderson Varejao and multiple draft picks.

Howard going to the Lakers has really always been the move that made the most sense for him. If he wants a ring, given the current landscape of the league and potential destinations for him, the Lakers are the right spot.

There were some rumors that Howard would not want to go to the Lakers because he would be the second-fiddle to Kobe Bryant but that doesn’t look to be the case anymore.

After acquiring Steve Nash earlier this month, the Lakers could possibly be considered title favorites with Nash, Kobe, Howard and Pau Gasol.

Howard’s health is still a concern though and he might not be ready to play by the start of next season. That isn’t the end of the world for the Lakers if he goes there but he’d definitely have to get to 100 percent for them to compete for a title with him.

Howard sent direct messages on Twitter a few days ago describing how he can barely walk right now and Orlando is not being totally forthright about his injury.

The Lakers are ready to make this trade and the Cavaliers probably are too and would love to team Bynum up with their young core of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson.

Orlando is likely the team that will be last to say “yes” on this. The Houston Rockets still consider themselves very much in the mix to trade for Howard and still could muster up a better package of young players and picks to send the Magic.

Orlando has said before too that they are not in any hurry to get a deal done soon. So while the Lakers may be anxious to finalize this soon, we may have to wait a little longer before we see where Howard will end up.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The USA Men’s Olympic Basketball team will play its second exhibition game tonight vs. Brazil. The game will be played in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center at 8 p.m. EST and will be on ESPN2.

Team USA won its first exhibition game last Thursday when they beat the Dominican Republic 113-59.

Kevin Durant led the U.S. with 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in that game and made his first five 3-pointers. Andre Iguodala was also hot from deep making four treys of his own and scoring 18 points.

Russell Westbrook had six points and five rebounds and James Harden scored eight points.

The Dominican Republic was very close to qualifying for the Olympics but lost to Nigeria in the final Olympic Qualifying game in Venezuela last week. NBA players Al Horford and Francisco Garcia played for the Dominican Republic but were no match at all for the U.S.

Brazil will be a tougher matchup for Team USA and is ranked 13th in the world by FIBA. Brazil has a few NBA players on its roster including Nene, Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.

The United States is without question more talented than Brazil but Brazil could pose a few tough matchups especially with their big men.

Team USA does not have a big roster and will be relying on its versatile wings and backcourt pressure to beat teams. Team USA played a lot of lineups with LeBron James and Durant playing the four and five which will put them at a disadvantage against a team like Brazil where Nene and Splitter can score efficiently out of the low post.

The United States’ ability to pressure ball handlers may also be lessened going up against an NBA-experienced point in Barbosa.

The game changes under FIBA rules and the United States looks less like a collection of NBA players in the process. In their first exhibition match, they fired 33 3-pointers and made 13 of them, thanks to Durant and Iguodala. Team USA doesn’t have a lot of great 3-point shooters however especially considering some of the lineups head coach Mike Krzyzewski plays involving average outside shooters like LeBron and Chris Paul.

The name of the game for Team USA will always be their defense in the backcourt, scoring on the break and moving the ball well on offense. They looked expectedly rusty against the Dominican Republic often over-passing in a game they knew they’d easily win. They also didn’t do the best job of team rebounding, something Coach K has emphasized with this team and something that will be very important against bigger teams like Brazil.

Team USA needs to find a more defined role for all of their players if they are going to hit their potential and win a Gold Medal in London.

Brazil is a perfect test before the Olympics to get the United States into shape. The game should be much closer than the game against the Dominican Republic which should force Team USA to play their appropriate best lineups.

Brazil has always played the United States tough in international basketball and is coming off an impressive 91-75 win over Argentina who is ranked 3rd in the world right now.

Team USA should still win tonight but we can expect ugly basketball in the process.

Jason Miller-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (2-game winning streak)
106.2 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.2 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
96.1 Pace (5th)
56.6 True Shooting % (2nd)
51.5 Rebound Rate (5th)

Cavaliers (1-game winning streak)
98.7 Offensive Efficiency (22nd)
103.1 Defensive Efficiency (23rd)
94.9 Pace (8th)
50.9 True Shooting % (24th)
50.4 Rebound Rate (13th)

The Thunder had a pretty good scare in their last game against Phoenix but ended up winning 115-104. The Suns outplayed the Thunder by far in the first half but the Thunder showed just how talented they are coming back to win in the second.

Tonight Cleveland comes into town and that probably sounds easier than it is. But for the Thunder, it really should be easy.

Kyrie Irving is without a doubt the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award this season and will have a tough matchup tonight against Russell Westbrook.

Jason Miller-US PRESSWIRE

Westbrook had to go up against the veteran Nash last game so this shouldn’t be any tougher for him. He is a far superior athlete than Nash or Irving and just coming off a Nash matchup should benefit him tonight.

The Thunder only had five players score in their win two nights ago. Luckily for them three of their players scored over 30.

Despite hitting the 30 mark, Kevin Durant had an off night going 10-for-27 from the field versus Phoenix. Durant has really not had a great shooting night in awhile now and may be due for one tonight.

Like Westbrook, Durant squared off against a savvy veteran in Grant Hill for Phoenix and was outplayed by him in the first half. Durant won’t see that kind of defense tonight and as long as he lets the game come to him, he should be fine.

The player from Cleveland that would be giving the Thunder the most trouble tonight is Anderson Varejao but he has been out for some time now and won’t suit up tonight.

James Harden is coming off a career-high 30 points against the Suns and should ride the momentum into tonight as the Thunder have a far superior second unit than Cleveland. Harden should be able to get anywhere he likes tonight and have another big game.

The Cavaliers are sixth in the NBA in offensive rebound rate but again won’t have Varejao tonight so the Thunder should be able to control the glass.

I wouldn’t expect this game to be close for very long so Thunder fans should get ready for some highlight reel plays tonight from the most exciting team in the league.