Tristan Thompson should ask Anderson Varejao about

Youll be forgiven for not quite remembering this, but when it comes to NBA holdouts, the Cavaliers should have the most knowledge. The ordeal that began with Tristan Thompson and the team unable to find a new contract by the Thursday deadlineand with has made Thompson a holdout as Steven Matz Jersey the Cavs start the season.It was eight years ago at this time that two Cavaliers, Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao, found themselves in much the same position as Thompson. They were restricted free agents who had not come to terms with the team, and had not signed the qualifying offer by the Oct. 1 deadline. Their Amed Rosario Jersey holdouts dragged on, Pavlovics until Oct. 30 and Varejaos until Dec. 5. Though then-general manager Danny Ferry is long gone, its safe to say owner Dan Gilbert learned something from that experience.Mostly, he learned that restricted free agency in the NBA is overwhelmingly weighted toward the teams. If an owner waits long enough, he will win.MORE: That Robinson Cano Jersey was the case with Pavlovic, who was coming off a breakout year and a key role in pushing the Cavs to the NBA Finals, but ultimately settled on a three-year deal, with the third year non-guaranteed. He earned a little more than $8 million on that Edwin Diaz Jersey contract.Varejao came up empty, too, and his case is the more significant of the two. His agent, Dan Fegan, had hoped to use Varejaos situation to set a precedent in restricted free agency, aiming to upend the way the system favors owners so completely. Varejao averaged 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds the previous year, yet was looking for a deal at about $10 Francisco Lindor Jersey million per season.Varejaos holdout was extraordinary for its length. But it did nothing to change the balance of power in restricted free agency. He wound up signing a three-year offer sheet with Charlotteworth $17 million over three years, and despite Varejao going through Darryl Strawberry Jersey the motion of saying he did not want to play for the Cavs again (a tactic restricted free agents have since used frequently, to no avail), Cleveland subsequently matched it.Thompson is coming off a breakout year and helped the Cavs to the Finals. That, as well as the fact that he shares an agent with LeBron James, gives him some leverage. But he has le s leverage than Pavlovic and Varejao had. Those players had international experience and could have realistically signed with European teams, still burgeoning with cash Tim Tebow Jersey in the year before the worldwide economic collapse.Thats not a threat Thompson can wield. So the Cavs will win simply by Gregor Blanco Jersey waiting, like they did with Pavlovic and Varejao.MORE: Of course, youd have to define win. Having mi sed camp, Pavlovic never built on his outstanding 2006-07 season, and shot just 36.2 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from the 3-point line. Varejaos drop-off was not as drastic, but by the time he returned to the Juan Lagares Jersey lineup, the Cavs, who won 50 games the previous year, were 9-12.That Cleveland team went on to win just 45 games, and made the drastic deadline-day deal that brought in Ben Wallace and, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak. The quick construction of the Celtics that year meant the Cavs did not return to the Finals until James came back.With Kevin Love and Timofey Mozgov getting healthy, this version of the Cavaliers is more suited to withstand time without Thompson than the Javier Báez Jersey woefully thin 2007-08 version was able to withstand the Varejao and Pavlovic holdouts.But theres no doubt the team accountants came out ahead in terms of bookkeeping. And that the Cavaliers themselves came out losers in the standings.