What might have been: Varejao to OKC?

You wouldn’t want to make the claim that there’s nothing interesting happening these days in Cleveland. When a team wins only once in a span of nearly 60 days and still hasn’t made it to victory No. 9 yet, there’s a morbid curiosity every time it plays about how much worse things can get.

The slightly more upbeat source of intrigue in Cavsland, of course, is the potential for deals before the Feb. 24 trading deadline.

The Cavs still have that infamous $14.5 million trade exception created in the LeBron James sign-and-trade salvation mission with Miami to take on a hefty contract if and when, in the words of Twitter-happy owner Dan Gilbert, they finally decide to “strike.”

NBA front-office sources say that the Cavs have likewise been making guard Mo Williams available since the summer and continue to receive trade interest from rival clubs for the likes of veteran forward Antawn Jamison and swingman Anthony Parker.

However …

Cleveland’s most enticing trade asset – rugged Brazilian big man Anderson Varejao – was ruled out for the rest of the season in early January thanks to a torn ankle tendon. Varejao still hasn’t decided whether he’s going to have surgery on the ankle, but the severity of the injury brought an understandable halt to some thought-provoking negotiations that sources say had quietly begun to percolate between the Cavs and Oklahoma City.