The Cleveland Cavaliers have been granted a disabled player exception worth $4.9 million, according to sources.

The Cavaliers have lost Anderson Varejao for the rest of the season.

LeBron James sat out his second straight game on Wednesday with knee soreness.

"It's been hurting pretty much all year," James said of his left knee. "I've been playing with it and it goes away and comes back. So, the one in Miami kind of re-aggravated it when I came out of the game in the third quarter."

James is not concerned about the knee in the long-term.

"I'm not concerned because all the tests and everything I've done with the doctors, everything has come back negative," James said. "So, I got 41,000 minutes in my career including the playoffs. You (try to) drive that car in the winter time (and see how it feels)."

During their on-court chat after the Christmas Day game, LeBron James may have communicated to Dwyane Wade that the two could reunite soon.

According to an apparently scrubbed version of the exchange that isolates the dialogue by reducing background noise, James seems to say, "Like I said, if we aren't better this year, we're gonna reunite again and do some bigger and better things, all right?"  Wade responds affirmatively.

James commented on the speculation on Wednesday, saying it was about getting together off the court and not about leaving Cleveland or playing with Wade again.

"I've seen the clip, just like you've seen the clip," James said.  "I don't know exactly what I said at the beginning either.  I know I said, 'We'll get back together and do some bigger and better things,' but it had nothing to do about basketball.  I mean, if I was going to tell him that, I'd tell him the night before.  Come on guys, I'm not stupid.  I know I didn't go to college but I'm not stupid.  I wouldn't say that on Christmas with a hundred cameras around.  I would have told him the night before at his house.  But, it's just me so I get it, I get it.  But it had nothing to do with leaving here and reuniting with him.  It had everything to do with just talking about other things more than just basketball.  Everybody gets so involved in basketball; our friendship -- obviously you guys know -- is bigger than basketball.  So, you know, our last four years couldn't be bigger and better even if we did get back together.  But, whatever, it's crazy."

LeBron James elaborated on describing his disposition as "chill mode" in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 98-89 win over the Orlando Magic last week.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with me not giving my all," James said. "I just took it to another level."

James has heard people say the comments could mean he was not giving his all on the court.

"It was the second game of a back-to-back and I was just feeling the game out like I always do," James said. "Kevin [Love] had it going, so there was no need to force anything.

"I just went off [offensively] after that [altercation]. It had nothing to do with me not playing hard. I'm always leaving it out on the floor. I approach each game differently and adjust accordingly throughout the game. That's what happened."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a growing level of worry about David Blatt's ability to reach the team, according to sources.

There is reportedly a rising concern in team circles about the level of response that Blatt is getting on the floor.

The Cavs would prefer not to be forced into evaluating their new coach just 30 games into Blatt's NBA career. But the Cavs' effort level, especially defensively, is eroding noticeably, raising the volume of questions about just how much the locker room is listening to the 55-year-old Boston native.

LeBron James assessed the Cleveland Cavaliers' play so far, after dropping 18-12 for the season with Sunday's blowout home loss to the Detroit Pistons.

"We're not a very good team," James said. "As far as on the court, we're still trying to find our way as well. We've won some good games, we've lost some games. But right now, we're just not very good in every aspect of the game that we need to be to compete every night."

The Cavaliers are 11-6 at home.

"I can't tell you what it was," Kevin Love said. "We need to play better in front of our home crowd, home fans, and it's just unacceptable."

The Cleveland Cavaliers used a smaller lineup during the fourth quarter of their win over the Orlando Magic.

A small lineup of Matthew Dellavedova, Dion Waiters, Mike Miller, LeBron James and Tristan Thompson was being used down the stretch to combat Orlando's small-ball unit.

Kevin Love didn't register a single minute in the fourth and he wasn't injured. 

"The way that Orlando was playing, they didn't make a particular substitution and we were just matched up so well defensively, we decided to not to go with it," Blatt said about not putting Love in the game. "Certainly to Kevin's credit, he actually kind of recognized it and supported that."

Love said he did not recall ever sitting out a fourth quarter without being fouled out or injured. 

"It's all about the matchup," Love said. "Had it been different, it might have been a tough pill to swallow. Tristan was doing a phenomenal job on [Nikola] Vucevic, forcing him into tough shots and blocking shots. It was really how they matched up. They went small. It wasn't hard for me at all. I was up pretty much every play I could be."

"Kevin Love sacrificed in the fourth quarter. He didn't play and was helping, cheering, slapping hands every time we came to the sidelines," James said of Love's engagement. "We took a step forward in that and I hope everyone seen that. I hope everyone saw it. I know I did. I saw it."

Ray Allen remains undecided about whether he will continue his playing career, but he could be leaning towards retirement.

Allen has received interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and other clubs.

"I have now heard that Ray Allen is leaning towards retiring," said Brian Windhorst.

LeBron James had a question of his own following a series of questions from the media after his first return to the Miami Heat as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"The question I have, which is kind of bothering me sometimes, is when a player decides to decide his own fate, there is always questions about it?" James said. "And, 'Why did this guy do that, do that and do this?' When an organization decides to go elsewhere for a player, it's that they did what's best for the team. Let's figure that out some time."

When asked why he believes players are chastised and not owners, James said: "I don't know. I'm done."

James was told that Dwyane Wade expressed something similar a day earlier. James just shook his head and kept walking.

"It's tough in this league," Wade said on Wednesday. "When a player makes a decision, and however you make it, there is always backlash. But when an organization makes it, it's the right thing for an organization to do. And it's fine. Josh Smith just got cut. It was the right thing for the Pistons to do.

"It's fine. LeBron James or players make decisions in free agency, then it becomes a different situation."