Varnado is a poor-man's replacement for Wilcox (a thin PF who might play a little center) and a body to bring in when Bass is ineffective and Sully is in foul trouble.
A poor man's replacement for Wilcox? Does such a someone exist? I shudder at the thought. Even at the risk of sounding foolish, I'm confident in saying that Varnado, because of his defensive abilities, is a better player than Wilcox who rates as one of the dumbest defensive minds in the game. Wilcox makes some of the most headscratching mistakes on defense every game. He has the tendency to help when he shouldn't help, in effect guarding nobody at all, leading to wide open baskets.
I liked Varnado coming out of college and because I was excited the Celtics signed him, I've watched several of his D-League games, which I'm not too proud to admit, but what's been done has been done. I saw a lot to be excited about. He's a very good rebounder who blocks out, can jump and has strong hands to haul in the ball. I'd describe his shotblocking as explosive. His agility and awareness also makes his very well suited to defending pick and rolls.
I'm going a step further with my like for Varnado and say that I wouldn't mind if he starts. The defensive potential with him and KG on the court, with all their agility, their pick and roll defensive capability, rebounding and shotblocking would be really, really fun to watch and potentially very, very effective. I'm drooling thinking about the possible rotations and rim protection. The Celtics haven't had a real defensive partner next to KG since Perkins, although Collins has done a good job besides with his rebounding. What I also like about Varnado is that he's a capable finisher. He's not an offensive non-entity who makes the basket look like the size of a golf hole.