Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer answered a handful of questions from Cavaliers fans earlier, pointing out that the team will most likely build through the draft and trades. If they were to find someone in free agency, Boyer opines, the Cavs definitely don't want to overpay in order to land their target. She also doesn't see Dwight Howard being a real option, nor does she think Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge will be available on the trade market.  You can find more of her noteworthy points below:

• With four draft picks in June, Boyer thinks that the team will look to package some picks in order to move up or make a trade. 
• Mike Brown appears to be putting his wish list of prospective assistant coaches together, and although former assistant John Kuester has been mentioned, it's not clear if he's interested. 
• Though mutual interest remains between the Cavs and Greg Oden, the team won't be willing to give him an opportunity at just any price. 
• The team is in full support of Anderson Varejao and wants to see him fully healthy and ready to play as soon as possible. 

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that the Mavericks are now in the market for adding a player after severing ties with guard Dominique Jones. Sefko comprises a list including Mike Bibby, Michael Redd, Earl Boykins, and Gilbert Arenas as available veterans who could be worth a look. Among the D-League hopefuls who could warrant an opportunity, Justin Dentmon, Chris Wright, or Sean Singletary come to mind. Sefko rules out the chances of Delonte West making a return to Dallas, citing that the team wouldn't want to reconnect after how badly things ended with him last year. You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous news and notes below:  

• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer thinks Tristan Thompson should be a candidate for the NBA's Most Improved award. 
• Alex Kramers of The Kings Blog recognizes how Tyreke Evans has improved his perimter accuracy with daily extra work. 
• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News says that the Jazz haven't and won't make a roster move today, and the Salt Lake Tribune's Bill Oram echoes that those expecting Utah to sign Travis Leslie will have to wait (Twitter links). 
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune introduces his list of college guards who would be ready to help the Timberwolves immediately with their size and skilled-shooting abilities. 
• MLive's David Mayo and Brendan Savage argued yesterday that the Pistons should take a look at O.J. Mayo this summer if he opts out of his deal with the Mavs, and Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News joins the chorus, believing the 25-year-old shooting guard would fill the team's need for perimeter scoring.
• Considering the need for a small forward, the health of Anderson Varejao, and the possibility that Marreese Speights leaves for free agency, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer discusses the Cavaliers' pressing issues heading into the offseason.

A roundup of the latest updates on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday evening:

• Dion Waiters praises the development and chemistry of his teammates after being named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that the rising value of first-round draft picks under the new CBA increases the likelihood the Cavs can pull off a trade similar to the one they made for Tyler Zeller.
• Injured big man Anderson Varejao discusses his relationship with former Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas with Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer.

4:47pm: Though he made comments indicating he would welcome Garnett to L.A., Chris Paul said he's not pushing the Clippers to make the deal, notes USA Today's Sam Amick.

4:22pm: Garnett has not ruled out accepting a trade to Los Angeles, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The Clippers, who began their efforts to land Garnett with the Bledsoe-Butler package more than two weeks ago, have always been willing to increase their price, Deveney writes.

3:42pm: Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears the teams have not discussed Garnett, and that the Clippers don't want to approach the luxury tax line (Twitter link). The Clippers are about $1MM shy of the $70.307MM tax threshold, but acquiring Garnett for Jordan and Bledsoe would save the team money. The other version of the deal, sending out Green, Turiaf and Butler, would likely make the Clippers a taxpayer.

2:51pm: Though Garnett has said he won't waive his no-trade clause under any circumstances, the Clippers are confident they can persuade him to come to L.A. if the Celtics tell him it's a deal they want to make, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

SATURDAY, 10:45am: Sean Deveney of the Sporting News tweets that the Clippers' primary incentive to do the trade is Del Negro's belief that Jordan isn't a championship-caliber center. He writes that the team discussed the possibility of trading for Anderson Varejao before the Cavs' big man's season-ending injury.

FRIDAY, 12:53am: Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro would be willing to do the deal, but the team's front office is "totally against the move," according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Clippers executives would prefer to send out Willie Green, Ronny Turiaf and Caron Butler for Garnett (Twitter links). 

12:11am: The Celtics and Clippers have been in consistent contact about a trade that would send Kevin Garnett to L.A. for Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan, report Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Factions within both teams are debating whether the deal would be the best course of action. This appears to be the latest incarnation of a proposal that would have sent Bledsoe and Caron Butler to Boston for Garnett.

After that rumor surfaced a couple of weeks ago, we heard that Garnett would not waive his no-trade clause unless he was dealt to L.A., which is close to his home in Malibu, Calif., and also unless the Celtics also traded Paul Pierce. While no Pierce trade appears imminent, sources tell Wojnarowski and Spears that Garnett's close relationship with Clippers guard Chauncey Billups could help coax him into accepting the swap. 

The Clippers have been reluctant to deal Bledsoe without knowing what Chris Paul will do in free agency this summer, but the team's front office is becoming increasingly confident Paul will re-sign, according to the Yahoo! report. Many within the organization believe Garnett would strengthen the team's title hopes, which explains the team's pursuit. It appears that the Clippers initiated talks of the earlier Garnett-Bledsoe-Butler proposal.

Wojnarowski and Spears point out that acquiring Bledsoe would allow the Celtics to deal away Rajon Rondo without getting a point guard in return, and earlier tonight a report surfaced about a potential Rondo/Dwight Howard swap. As I wrote then, it appears Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is aggressively pursuing his options as Thursday's trade deadline nears. Ainge has reportedly been looking for something to get "really, really excited about" in any deal for Garnett, and it's unclear whether Bledsoe and Jordan would be enough to satisfy that requirement.

From a salary perspective, the deal works out well for the Celtics. It would only add $674,432K to the team's salary, leaving about $2MM under Boston's $74.307MM hard cap, plenty of room to pursue another player to fill out the team's injury-depleted roster. Jordan's four-year, $43MM contract includes a 15% trade kicker, but because it was signed after the league's current CBA went into effect, the Clippers would have to absorb the extra money if they trade their center, and not the team that acquires him. 

In his first interview since he underwent surgery for the blood clot in his lung, Anderson Varejao spoke to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports about how lucky he feels to have survived the ordeal. While most of the conversation focused on Varejao's health, the subject of trade rumors surfaced as well, with Varejao telling Spears that he hopes to remain in Cleveland for the rest of his contract.

"If they trade me, they trade me," Varejao said. "I'm happy here. I don't want to be traded."

Varejao was a frequently-discussed trade candidate before he was sidelined by a quadriceps injury and the blood-clot surgery, but as he tells Spears, he hasn't heard his name mentioned in trade talks since going under the knife. With another two years on his contract, which includes a partially-guaranteed 2014/15, the 30-year-old could re-emerge as a trade candidate down the road, but for this month at least, he appears unlikely to be moved.

Even though Varejao probably isn't going anywhere, the Cavs are still expected to be active in trade discussions over the next 10 days, as the team is armed with about $4MM in cap space, along with a handful of expiring contracts.

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald hears that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant could be looking to deal Luke Walton, Daniel Gibson, Omri Casspi (all expiring contracts), or even Marreese Speights (citing ESPN's Marc Stein) by the February trade deadline. He also shared a few more noteworthy tidbits in his NBA Notes piece: 

• One reason why the team won't look to move Anderson Varejao is that he could be one of LeBron James' preferred counterparts should the current Heat star look to eventually return to Cleveland. 
• Indiana's Cody Zeller, Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, and Maryland's Alex Len are among the top talented big men that the Cavs could target in June's NBA draft. Finnan adds that the addition of Marreese Speights has no bearing on the team's interest in drafting a big man during the offseason.
• Due to his ability to veto his inclusion in a trade, Speights lost his Bird Rights, which essentially prevents Cleveland from being able to exceed the cap to re-sign him. The 6'10 forward owns a $4.5MM player option for next season, but could end up pursuing a multi-year deal this summer if he plays well for the rest of the year. 

Anderson Varejao will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after developing a blood clot in his lung, the Cavaliers announced today in a press release. The issue surfaced shortly after Varejao had undergone leg surgery that was expected to keep him out of action for six to eight weeks.

"Clearly our players' health is our top concern and we are disappointed for Anderson, and his family," said GM Chris Grant in a statement. "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."

While Varejao is expected to make a full recovery, his absence will hurt the Cavs' on-court prospects this season, with the team likely headed for another high lottery pick. Varejao's latest health issue also figures to rule out the possibility that Cleveland will trade him this season. We've seen sidelined stars moved at the deadline before, such as Andrew Bogut a year ago, but I'd be shocked if the Cavs dealt Varejao while he undergoes treatment for the blood clot.

Because the deadline to apply for a disabled player exception came and went last week, the Cavaliers won't be able to request a DPE for Varejao. However, it wouldn't have been of use for the Cavs anyway, since the team has more room in cap space than the amount such an exception would have been worth ($4.18MM).

Losing Anderson Varejao for a good chunk of the season was a blow to the Cavaliers' on-court prospects and to the team's chances of extracting value for him at the trade deadline, but it wasn't just the Cavs that were adversely affected by Varejao's leg injury. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link), earning an All-Star berth would have triggered a $1MM bonus in Varejao's contract. Given the big man's strong performance early in the season (14.1 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 22.0 PER), an All-Star berth appeared well within reach before he was sidelined.

Here are a few more Wednesday morning items out of the Central Division:

• Despite a recent report suggesting the Pistons aren't interested in trading Tayshaun Prince, the veteran forward recognizes he's not untouchable, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. Still, Prince has no desire to ask the Pistons to trade him: "One day it might hit me. I might get in a position where it's time for me to win one more (championship). To go to a contender-type team. I might go to Joe [Dumars] that day and say, 'It's time for me to move on' and play that route. But now is not the time."
• While he'd been excited to join the Bucks in the offseason, Samuel Dalembert was disappointed by Scott Skiles' use of him -- the veteran center is averaging his fewest minutes per game since his rookie year in 2001/02. Dalembert spoke to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times about his relationship with Skiles, and says "everyone is enthusiastic" about the change to new coach Jim Boylan.
• Ersan Ilyasova, who signed a five-year deal with the Bucks last summer, is also pleased with the team's coaching change, having been re-inserted into the starting lineup. So far, Boylan has made the moves that will benefit the franchise long-term, writes Stephen Brotherson of HoopsWorld.

Steve Kyler's latest piece for HoopsWorld is packed full of updates on players who could be on the move before this season's trade deadline. Kyler covers plenty of ground in his column, so let's dive right in and round up the highlights....

• The Kings' uncertain ownership situation may result in a quiet trade deadline in Sacramento. While the situation could change between now and February 21st, Kyler says that for now the team appears "frozen in terms of making deals."
• Kyler suggests it's possible the Grizzlies will explore ways of getting below the luxury tax line that don't involve trading a big contract like Rudy Gay's.
• The Lakers aren't engaged in any trade talks involving Pau Gasol, and may not seriously explore a Gasol deal unless they fall out of the playoff hunt by the deadline.
• While J.J. Redick is drawing plenty of interest, rival teams have also called the Magic about Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson. If Orlando makes a move, the club would like to include Glen Davis or Hedo Turkoglu to shed some long-term salary.
• Pointing to Andrew Bogut as an example of an injured player who was dealt last season, Kyler warns not to rule out Anderson Varejao as a trade candidate.
• The Bucks are much more inclined to move players like Beno Udrih, Drew Gooden, and Samuel Dalembert than Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings, but those secondary pieces aren't drawing much interest.
• Al Jefferson seems more likely than Paul Millsap to re-sign with the Jazz this summer, though clubs have been in touch with the Jazz about both players.
• The Spurs "will be dealing" DeJuan Blair before the deadline, according to Kyler.
• Derrick Williams appears unlikely to be moved by the Timberwolves while Kevin Love remains sidelined with his broken hand.
• Several teams have been calling the Suns to inquire on Marcin Gortat. The Rockets are one team believed to have interest.

It’s more than reasonable for the Celtics to consider cashing out on an aging Paul Pierce for young assets to be used towards rebuilding, opines Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld.  In another season and a half, the veteran could retire or walk away from Boston with no compensation.  His trade value may never be as high as it will be now through the 2013 draft, and this may be the time to act, according to Brigham. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.

• Sixers GM Tony DiLeo told reporters, including Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com, that the team will try to stay in contention for a playoff spot until Andrew Bynum gets back, and may make short-term upgrades that don't cut into next summer's cap space. 
• DiLeo also said the Sixers "are still looking at Andrew as a long-term solution," indicating they still plan on trying to re-sign him this summer.
• The extension Frank Vogel signed with the Pacers this week runs through 2014/15, and will pay the coach $2MM per season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
• J.J. Redick doesn’t want to be traded away from the Magic, but after hearing from GM Rob Hennigan that several teams have expressed interest, he's girding himself for the possibility, writes John Denton of Magic.com.
• The Heat signed Josh Harrellson and Jarvis Varnado to ten-day contracts simply to stall for time until something better comes along, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.  The Heat can get a better sense of what might be available to add at either the trading deadline or buyout deadline.
• Anderson Varejao's injury isn't devastating to his long-term trade value, as The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer examines.

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors also contributed to this post.