Coach Byron Scott says he's not worried about Varejao's conditioning after the forward missed the first 10 practices, but he does want him to get up to speed offensively and defensively.
View full sizeAnderson Varejao has rejoined the Cavaliers after attending his grandfather's funeral.INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Anderson Varejao's first practice came 10 days after his teammates', putting him untold miles of running behind in the Byron Scott conditioning school.
But don't worry, the coach will make sure he catches up.
Varejao returned to the team after attending his grandfather's funeral in Brazil and spent time working with coaches following shootaround Thursday morning. That will continue for at least the next week as Scott plans to hold Varejao out of several preseason games so he can get up to speed and get his speed up.
Varejao did not play against the Wizards on Thursday and Scott said he would likely hold his best center out of the weekend road trip to Houston and Dallas.
"I'm not concerned about the conditioning, I'm worried about him getting up to speed both offensively and defensively," Scott said. "But watching him walk through the offensive stuff, he seemed to grasp that pretty good. I'm not real concerned, it's really just going to be time trying to get him up to speed."
Varejao is also still not 100 percent after he sprained an ankle in August.
Jamison, Woods sit: The Cavs didn't have the services of most of their big men against Washington. Scott held out forward Antawn Jamison to give him some rest. The coach said it wasn't related to the sore knee that knocked Jamison out of last week's scrimmage and some practice time. Also Loren Woods, who had been playing backup center, missed the game with a sore Achilles tendon.
Still chasing: Wizards coach Flip Saunders was sympathetic but realistic about what happened to Jamison, one of his former players. As Washington began a rebuilding project last season, it traded Jamison to the Cavs in a salary-cap clearing deal. It was believed Jamison had been hoping for a trade to a contender as the Wizards started over.
It didn't work out, however, as the Cavs were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs and are now transitioning.
"They say in the league that players who chase championships often don't get them," Saunders said. "You've got to be lucky. I'm sure Antawn thought it was a good opportunity, but they had some injuries and it just didn't work out."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: bwindhorst@plaind.com, 216-999-5166