According to an informed league source, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors have recently had discussions about a possible Drew Gooden trade.
The Cavaliers, hoping to re-sign Anderson Varejao, currently have over $64-million worth of salaries committed for next season and are right up against the $67.865-million luxury tax threshold. Both Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic are restricted free-agents for Cleveland, giving the team the opportunity to match any offer given to either of them.
The Warriors possess a $9.9-million traded player exception that they received in the Draft Night deal for Jason Richardson. Should they send the TPE to Cleveland for Gooden, the Cavaliers will immediately be freed from Gooden's $6.4-million salary for next season, increasing the likelihood of bringing back their own free agents, Varejao and Pavlovic.
In need of a rebounding presence on the inside, the Warriors could use Gooden as a backup center to Andris Biedrins. His mobility and willingness to scrap for rebounds would be a welcome addition to a Warriors squad that was out muscled by the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Specific packages and players other than Gooden are not yet known.
The question for the Cavs then becomes whether Varejao is worth that much to them. If not, the Warriors may have stolen Varejao at a great cost. If so, the Warriors' Traded Player Exception looks like an absolutely wonderful chip for the Cavaliers now that Varejao is back. It is very difficult to justify starting Gooden in front of Varejao at that cost and it is equally difficult to do the same for Varejao starting in front of a $6.4-million Gooden. Plus, the Cavaliers would still have to work on a deal with Sasha Pavlovic.
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