The Warriors are close to re-signing center Anderson Varejao, a source confirmed Thursday. ESPN’s Marc Stein was the first to report the news.

Varejao, an unrestricted free agent, appeared in 22 regular-season games and 17 playoff games for Golden State last season. They signed him February 22, four days after Cleveland traded Varejao to Portland and the Trail Blazers then waived him. Varejao spent the first 11 1/2 seasons of his career with Cleveland.

He’s expected to sign a one-year contract with the Warriors for the veteran minimum (for players with 10-plus years in the league) of $1.551 million.

Varejao’s return makes sense for a team in need of depth at center. The Warriors, in the wake of signing free-agent forward Kevin Durant, traded Andrew Bogut to Dallas and let Festus Ezeli leave for Portland as a free agent.

They signed former Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia, who likely will start if head coach Steve Kerr plays a conventional lineup. Varejao, 33, figures to see playing time as Pachulia’s backup.

Varejao averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds for the Warriors during the regular season, and 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in the postseason. – sfgate.com