ATLANTA — About five minutes after the Warriors’ 102-92 victory over the Hawks on Monday night, Draymond Green made his way to the visitors’ locker room.

Waiting for Green at the door was Anderson Varejao — all 6-foot-10 and 273 pound of him, full of dap and praise.

Varejao just kept standing at the door, waiting another 10 minutes as his new teammates mocked the seemingly curious act.

When Stephen Curry finally arrived at the locker room, Varejao was still at the door and ready with a similar greeting for the point guard.

With all of the Warriors in the locker room and having been congratulated on win No. 50, Varejao felt it was finally OK to sit.

“You’ve got to respect that,” Green said.

Varejao hasn’t played a second for the Warriors yet, and he’s already had a positive impact on the league’s best team.

“Everybody loves him,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “... He’ll be great in our locker room, and he’ll get a chance to play.”

Back to Gallery Warriors’ Anderson Varejao already fitting in with new... 5 1 of 5 Photo: Michael Conroy, Associated Press 2 of 5 Photo: Mike Cardew, McClatchy-Tribune News Service 3 of 5 Photo: Matt Slocum, Associated Press 4 of 5 Photo: Tony Dejak, Associated Press 5 of 5 Photo: Tony Dejak, Associated Press









The 33-year-old is expected to play as soon as Wednesday, when the Warriors face Miami in the fourth game of a six-game road trip. It will have been nearly a week since a whirlwind started in Varejao’s life and surprisingly came to a calm in the Warriors’ locker room.

Varejao was traded by Cleveland, the only team he had ever known in 11½ NBA seasons, to Portland in a three-team deal Thursday. He did not fly to Portland, which cut him after making the deal mainly to receive draft picks.

The center cleared waivers Saturday and considered offers from a series of playoff-bound teams in the Western Conference. On Sunday, he chose the Warriors. On Monday, he passed his physical and signed his veteran’s minimum contract. On Tuesday, he practiced with his new team for the first time.

“It’s kind of crazy, the way everything happened,” Varejao said. “I was at home and didn’t know what was going to happen with me. All of a sudden, I’m here. I’m very excited to be here. I’m very excited for the opportunity. …

“I have another run to try to win a championship.”

Varejao averaged 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game with the Cavaliers and made NBA Finals runs with the team in 2007 and 2015. Cleveland was swept by San Antonio in 2007 and lost 4-2 to the Warriors in 2015.

Varejao sat out the 2015 NBA Finals after having surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. He was averaging career lows in points (2.6), rebounds (2.9) and minutes (10.0) this season and had averaged only 34.4 games per season from 2010 through ’15.

But with backup center Festus Ezeli expected to be recovering from left knee surgery until at least mid-March and starting center Andrew Bogut dealing with an achy Achilles, the Warriors see a good fit in Varejao.

“It’s a great pickup for us,” Bogut said. “Obviously, he’s a utility guy, like myself. Off the bench, he can handle the ball, pass and do all of the little things that get extra shots for us. He’s going to be invaluable for us, especially down the stretch.”

Varejao expends more energy during pregame layup lines than some players do in 48 minutes of game action. His passing ability and court vision should mesh with the Warriors’ heavy ball- and player-moving offense.

“I’m very excited,” Varejao said. “I haven’t played a lot this season, and I like the system here. I like the way they play. I know the 20-something games we have left are going to be important for me to get ready for the playoffs.

“I’m excited. I can’t wait for that opportunity.”

Whenever the Warriors need him, he’ll be waiting at the door.

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron