Anderson Varejao developed a blood clot in his lung that, because of blood thinners, will keep him out for the rest of the Cavs’ season. (David Liam Kyle/Getty Images)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao recently developed a blood clot in his lung, after having surgery on his leg. He was admitted to the hospital on January 17th for the blood clot and is currently being treated with blood thinners. Varejao will need to remain on the blood thinners for three months. Although he should make a full recovery, he will miss the remainder of the Cavaliers’ season.

Cavaliers GM Chris Grant expressed concern and support for Varejao:

“Clearly our players’ health is our top concern and we are disappointed for Anderson, and his family. We know what a competitor he is and how much he wants to be on the court helping his teammates. In the meantime, he has our full support and we look forward to welcoming him back as he recovers.”

Varejao has had a string of unfortunate injuries that has plagued his career recently.

Varejao had a freak ankle injury in practice 2 years ago, this year had a bizarre split muscle MRIs couldn't even see & now a blood clot

—
Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 21, 2013

Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao will miss up to eight weeks with a knee injury. (David Liam Kyle/NBA/Getty Images)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao needs surgery to repair a small longitudinal split in the vastus medialis in his right knee and is expected miss six to eight weeks, the team announced Wednesday.

Varejao injured his knee Dec. 18 in a game against Toronto and has not been cleared to participate in practice.

Varejao is the NBA’s leading rebounder at 14.4 per game and also averages 14.1 points per contest.

An MRI revealed the contused area included a small longitudinal split in the vastus medialis. Despite continued, gradual recovery of the contusion, symptoms also continued in the specific area of the split.

“I’m still trying to be very optimistic that he’ll be able to play, I just don’t know when,” Cavaliers head Byron Scott said. “I hope I’m not talking like it’s long-term or for the season. I’m still optimistic he’ll be able to play this year until the doctors tell me something different.”

Varejao has missed 92 games over the past two seasons with a torn foot ligament and broken wrist.

Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard could be swapping coasts, with Bynum headed to Cleveland or Orlando and Howard headed to the Lakers. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Dwight Howard is reportedly ready to join the Lakers and would re-sign long-term if the Orlando Magic traded him to Los Angeles, according to a tweet from Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com, whose report was confirmed Thursday morning by ESPN.com:

Magic center Dwight Howard signaled that if he is traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, he would be prepared to sign a long-term extension after the 2012-13 NBA season, the basketball website RealGM.com reported Wednesday. Two sources confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard that Howard is willing to re-sign long term with the Lakers if Orlando trades him there.

The deal that seems to be picking up steam would send Howard to the Lakers, Bynum to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cavs’ Anderson Varejao, draft picks and “cap relief” to the Magic.

But the snag in the trade is still the uncertainty of whether a team would give up assets for the mere chance at re-signing Bynum to a long-term deal. Bynum, who becomes a free agent next summer, has reportedly been reluctant to say he’d sign a long-term deal with the Cavs, Houston Rockets or Magic, opting instead to test the free-agent market in Summer 2013, according to the report:

Although Bynum has not completely ruled out playing with the Magic, sources said, he will not sign an extension with them, and instead will wait until after the season to potentially test the free-agent market.

Sources: Dwight Howard is ready to join Lakers. If traded to Los Angeles Howard will re-sign long-term with team after 2012-13 season.—
Jarrod N Rudolph (@JRudolphSports) July 19, 2012

Sources confirm @JRudolphSports report that Dwight Howard is ready to join Lakers. If traded to LA DH will re-sign long-term with team—
Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 19, 2012

For the second year in a row, Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao has failed to finish out the regular season — this time it’s a broken right wrist that’s cut short Varejao’s campaign, according to the Associated Press.

Varejao played just 25 games for the Cavs this season, averaging 10.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest. He’s been out since Feb. 10, when he injured the wrist in an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Cavs went 10-26 without Varejao. Coach Byron Scott told the AP that they could have won “10 to 15″ more games with their big man in the lineup.

Varejao played only 31 games last season — he was shut down for the year on Jan. 7, 2011 with a torn tendon in his right ankle.

There’s still no good news on the health of Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao — Cavs coach Byron Scott says the center’s broken right wrist will not be re-examined by doctors until next week, according to the Associated Press.

Varejao broke the wrist during the Cavs’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 10. The team originally expected him to miss 4-6 weeks but said he might return sooner. But now, more than a month later, Varejao continues to wear a wrap over the wrist and has not resumed basketball activities.

The Cavs are attempting to make a playoff push without Varejao. After losing eight of their first 11 games without the big man, they’ve since won three straight, and they now trail the New York Knicks by only one game for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Cavs host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao has a fractured wrist, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. An MRI confirmed the injury, according to the report.

Anderson Varejao has suffered a fractured wrist, an MRI reveals. Tough blow for Cavs and him. Many teams had been anxious to trade for him.—
Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 11, 2012

Varejao was injured Friday night in an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The injury was initially reported as a sprained right wrist.

On the season Varejao is averaging 10.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game for the 10-15 Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a 4-5 start, a marked improvement from the miserable 19-63 record they put up last year, and they’re building for the future with rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. But they’re still attached to their veteran core, says Byron Scott, who can’t imagine losing 29-year-old big man Anderson Varejao.

“It would have to be an unbelievable person to get back,” Scott told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I look at him as one of the guys you look at and say ‘He’s not going anywhere.’ I just feel that strongly about him and what he means to this team.”

Varejao leads the Cavaliers with 10.2 rebounds per game this season, along with 9.4 points. The energetic big man has been a Cavalier for all of his eight-year NBA career — he was a key reserve for the 2007 team that won the East but lost the NBA Finals to the Spurs.

The Cavs’ center missed the majority of last season with a torn tendon in his right ankle. The Cavs went on an epic losing streak in his absence, losing 26 consecutive games.

Varejao has approximately $25 million left on his contract, which expires in 2014.