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Cavs' Varejao on entering contract season: 'They know I want to stay'

David Richard / USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers went through their fair share of moves this offseason, welcoming back LeBron James and trading away two highly regarded first-overall draft picks in exchange for Kevin Love. They immediately became Championship contenders when James returned.

Center Anderson Varejao is coming into a contract year and knows he wants to be with the Cavaliers for the remainder of his career.

"I want to stay in Cleveland, I really don't think about that. They know what I want to do, they know I want to stay," he told USA Today.

"All these years there were a lot of people on my ear telling me that I should ask for a trade because LeBron wasn't there and the team was in a rebuilding process," he said.

Now that James is back, he's glad he stayed and is looking forward to reuniting with one of the NBA's elite.

"They told me I should leave, that I should go to another team and try to help win a title and I always said no, I won't. I don't need to leave."

Even though it happened sooner than Varejao expected, he admitted he always knew James would return to his hometown.

"I thought there was a chance for him to come back. I didn't expect it now, but eventually, because he's from there, I thought there was a chance."

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