Anderson Varejao: Anderson Varejao will be traded to Portland

In a three-team trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers – along with the Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers – completed a trade that landed them Channing Frye.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported Varejao was traded to Portland as part of a three-team deal that sends Channing Frye to Cleveland from Orlando.

Portland had a ton of salary cap space entering the deadline and was a top candidate to take on salary in exchange for a draft pick or two. Again, we’re not getting him to be a defensive stopper.

The forgotten team in the deal is Orlando.

Orlando has been in rebuilding mode for four years, since trading Dwight Howard to Los Angeles after the 2011-12 season. If he’s on the court in a potential NBA Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors, for instance, that will prove a losing proposition for Cleveland.

Frye, a 10-year veteran, is averaging 5.2 points a game this season, per ESPN.

Cavaliers general manager David Griffin dreaded making this phone call. The Cavs were privately pessimistic as late as Wednesday night they could get something done for Frye because they needed to move money first and they believed the Magic would find a better deal elsewhere. He has appeared in 31 of Cleveland’s 52 games this season, averaging 10 minutes per game. Even with the rise in the salary cap on the horizon for 2016-17, the Trail Blazers may not want to keep Varejao on the books. He has two more years left on his contract.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets also made a deal during the National Basketball Association trade deadline day on Friday.