Warriors sign C Varejao, waive F Thompson
The Golden State Warriors signed center Anderson Varejao on Monday and waived forward Jason Thompson.
Varejao, 33, agreed to join the Warriors on Sunday after clearing waivers, he confirmed to Cleveland.com. Varejao was traded by the Cavaliers to the Trail Blazers last week, and Portland immediately waived him.
Varejao has career averages of 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 12 NBA seasons, all spent with Cleveland. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 31 games this season.
Thompson, 29, appeared in 28 games (one start) with the Warriors this season, posting averages of 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest. He owns career averages of 9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 569 games over eight seasons.
Mavericks pick up Lee
The Dallas Mavericks officially signed power forward David Lee, who cleared waivers after receiving a buyout from the Boston Celtics.
Lee will join the Mavericks for the rest of the season. To make room on the roster, the Mavs waived reserve guard John Jenkins.
Lee, 32, averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 30 games for the Celtics this season. He last appeared in a game on Jan. 10 and Celtics coach Brad Stevens recently said the lack of action was due to differences in Boston’s style of play and Lee’s skills.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Lee has career averages of 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds over 11 NBA seasons. He is a two-time All-Star and played with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors before joining the Celtics prior to this season.
Blue Jays RF Bautista demands new deal
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista has presented the club with financial terms and said he will part ways with the franchise if his demands aren’t met.
Bautista didn’t reveal his demands to reporters on Monday but made it clear he is “not willing to negotiate.”
The 35-year-old Bautista is entering the final season of his contract. He signed a five-year-$65 million deal in 2011 and the Blue Jays exercised a $14 million option to retain his services this season.
Bautista met with reporters after arriving at spring training in Dunedin, Fla., and said he had a recent meeting with team brass in Toronto. The six-time All-Star said the club knows what it must do to retain his services.
“If this is going to happen, I think it should be natural, organic, quick and easy,” Bautista said. “It shouldn’t be pull and tug over a few dollars here and there.”
Villanova remains No. 1 in AP poll
Villanova remained No. 1 for the third straight week in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday.
The Wildcats (24-3) received 45 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. Second-ranked Kansas (23-4) received the other 20 votes.
Villanova will travel to No. 5 Xavier on Wednesday. Junior forward Kris Jenkins and junior guard Josh Hart combined for 42 points to lift Villanova to its seventh win in a row, 77-67 over Butler on Saturday.
Oklahoma (21-5) and Virginia (21-5) are tied for third, followed by Xavier (24-3), Michigan State (22-5), North Carolina (22-5), Iowa (20-6), Arizona (22-5) and Maryland (23-5) to round out the top 10.
Louisville (21-6) is No. 11, followed by Miami (21-5), Oregon ( 21-6), West Virginia (20-7), Duke (20-7), Kentucky (20-7), Iowa State (19-8), Indiana (22-6), Baylor( 20-7), Purdue (21-7), Texas A&M (20-7), Utah (21-7), Notre Dame (18-8), SMU (22-4) and Texas (17-10).