Cavaliers bring back Tristan Thompson

  The Cleveland Cavaliers brought back a popular player to serve as a backup center as the Cavaliers signed Tristan Thompson to a one-year contract at the veteran's minimum of 3.2 million dollars.

The contract is not fully guaranteed, although it would become guaranteed if Thompson is still on Cleveland's roster on January 7th. 

The 6'9 Thompson was selected fourth overall by Cleveland in 2011 and would play nine seasons by Lake Erie, playing for all four Eastern Conference championship teams and the Cavaliers World Championship team in 2015-16.

Thompson has played for five teams since leaving Cleveland in 2020 and didn't play at all last season until signing with the Lakers last April, where he played in six playoff games, averaging five minutes of playing time with points and rebounds of under two points a game.

Thompson owns career averages of nine points and eight rebounds a game and will fill the backup position that Robin Lopez was used in last season.

Thompson will turn 33 near the end of the season and hasn't played a full season since he left Cleveland, playing 54 and 57 games in the two seasons before last season's playoff cameo with the Lakers.

I don't know what Thompson has left but he should at least equal Lopez's output (three points and one rebound in 37 games averaging eight minutes a game) and likely play a bit more for the Cavaliers.

Thompson should add a little veteran presence and an occasional high-energy boost off the bench (similar to Anderson Varejao) should the team not play him too many minutes on aging legs.

Remember that Thompson played just one college season and players that come out really early (high school or one year of college) tend to have a lot of wear on them and can age very quickly.

I don't think that signing Tristan Thompson is going to mean a lot in the big picture as a big man far down the bench but signings like this are good for fans of the team to see a fan favorite winding down their career in a role that isn't a key one.

Veterans like Thompson can help younger players like Evan Mobley by teaching the game, showing how to deal with off-the-floor distractions ( although Thompson might not be the guy to teach that with his experience with the Kardashians), and since Thompson knows and likes the city, he can help with where to go and not go in the area.

I'm okay with this mainly because the Cavaliers won't be asking much from a veteran that's past his prime and someone would have to be in that slot, so why not a popular player at a low cost? 

Cavaliers obtain Javale McGee, lose Thompson

     The Cleveland Cavaliers were in need of a veteran frontcourt body that could fill-in at center behind Andre Drummond and spend some minutes at power forward as the backup behind Kevin Love after Tristan Thompson signed with the Boston Celtics over the weekend.

Cleveland attempted to fill that hole with a trade with the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers as the Cavaliers obtained veteran big man Javale McGee to serve in that position.

The Cavaliers sent journeymen forwards Alfonso McKinnie and Jordan Bell to the Lakers for McGee and the Lakers second-round pick in the 2026 draft

McKinnie played in 40 games last season for Cleveland, averaging 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in playing around thirteen minutes a game, while Bell was signed after the season by the Cavaliers after splitting last year between Minnesota and Memphis averaging 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in over eight minutes a game.

Either or both McKinnie and Bell could be waived by the Lakers, who needed some salary-cap relief in order to sign Marc Gasol.

The Cavaliers side of the deal brings the 7'0 McGee, who averaged six points, five rebounds, and a block and a half in sixty-eight games for the Lakers averaging sixteen minutes game, to Cleveland.

The soon to be 33 years old McGee has played for six teams in his twelve-year NBA career after being selected by Washington in the first round of the 2008 draft and two years ago with the Lakers, averaging twelve points and just under six boards.

McGee will be part of the second unit, can play center or power forward depending on which of the centers/power forwards are on the court at the time between Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, and Larry Nance Jr.

McGee isn't an outside shooting big man, but he does perform well on pick and roll and shoots well from the inside.

As a solid backup or even as a complimentary starter that doesn't have too much expected of him, Javale McGee can emulate Tristan Thompson's numbers somewhat.

As for Tristan Thompson, the Cavaliers were considered the favorites to retain his services, but after the
Celtics offered a two-year contract for just under nineteen million dollars, Thompson decided to join a contender rather than the rebuilding Cavaliers.

The 29-year-old Thompson spent his entire career in Cleveland after being drafted fourth overall in the 2011 draft after playing one season at Texas.

Thompson posted career highs last season averaging twelve points and ten rebounds per game and even though his shooting percentage dipped a little, Thompson still shot .512 from the floor for the year.

Tristan Thompson removes another link to the Cavaliers' only championship season and the Cavaliers lose a player that is very popular with the fan base.

Thompson's effort was never questioned, he developed into a player that didn't try to do what his skills were incapable of, and was a solid locker room presence, despite the occasional distraction from his relationship with reality star Khloe Kardashian.

Tristan Thompson will be missed in Cleveland by fans, and he'll be missed by the media as well, but what he does best is better used by a contender than a bottom dweller.

Thompson will hit the boards, get the ball out on the break, and bang some bodies on the inside to do the dirty work that many don't like to do in the NBA.

In other words, he's exactly what a contender like the Celtics are looking for.

Cavaliers cruise by Celtics in Game One 117-104

So much for rust and so much for the home court advantage of the Boston Celtics as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran up and down and through Boston on their way to a deceivingly small thirteen point win

in a game one that spent much of the game in the twenty point margin.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 38 points,but he had plenty of help with Kevin Love scoring 32 points and 12 rebounds along with Tristan Thompson's 20 points and 9 rebounds.

The 117-104 win gave Cleveland a 1-0 series lead and gave home court advantage to the Cavaliers.

Game two is Friday night in Boston.

Swashbucklings

1) I'm not sure what Boston coach Brad Stevens can do in any hope to stop LeBron James.

Stevens (who I'm a big fan of as a coach) tried big,small and in between defenders and none created even the slightest concern for James,who drove by everyone,but Red Auerbach to the basket for easy scores.

2) Boston's best two players were not their best players on this night as Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford combined to shoot 11 for 30 on the evening.

In my opinion,Thomas and Horford are nice players and well suited to win games in the regular season.

However,there always comes a time somewhere in the postseason that teams need to have an Alpha Dog-neither Thomas or Horford are that type of player.

3) Was nice to see Kevin Love setting a playoff career high for points with his 32 points.
Love hit six of nine from three point range and many of them were wide open shots.

The Cavaliers moved the ball around with ease,often leaving the Celtics scrambling and more often than not,unable to reach the open man.

I drove to work late in the third quarter and Sirius radio uses the home team feed,so the Celtics announcers were on and they were bemoaning the lack of defense on Love from beyond the arc.

When the home team's network is griping about their teams lack of defense,you know they have been dominated.

4) Credit to Tristan Thompson for not only his 20 points around the glass,but for establishing that the Cavaliers will be the more physical team inside.

Boston is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and Cleveland figured to have an advantage inside,but Thompson's offense was unexpected,I'll take it.

5) Kelly Olynyk,the Celtic hero in their game seven win over Washington and before that best known for his MMA submission move on Kevin Love in the 2015 playoffs that knocked Love out for the duration of that playoff run,was completely ineffective.

Ineffective to the tune of two points in sixteen minutes.

6) Game two might be the Celtics stand.

At home and with most counting them out,Boston will need their best effort and I think Cleveland is going to get it.

Boston is in "all in" mode-if the Cavaliers can grab game two,I think this series ends in a sweep...

Cavaliers keeping the core!

Dan Gilbert promised that the best was yet to come for the Cleveland Cavaliers and that money was not going to get in the way of that destination.

Cleveland found themselves off to a fast start with the re-signing of Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert to long-term deals and it looked as if Tristan Thompson was going to added to the fold on the same day as well before an apparent monkey wrench has resulted in no current agreement,although talks are continuing.

The big news is the signing of Kevin Love to a max contract for five years and 110 million and ending the last year of speculation (including mine) of whether Love was a long term Cavalier and was the loss of Andrew Wiggins worth the potential of a one year rental.
Love's retention (and Shumpert as well) makes the Cavaliers a realistic title contender for the next few seasons and removes the speculation from the media that followed the team for the last year.
That alone has to improve the team from a morale standpoint not having to answer the various questions spun off the same theme and could result in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Love gives the Cavaliers the frontcourt scoring option that was so sorely missing against Golden State and allows Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson (assuming he re-signs) room to roam in the paint.
This move alone allows Cleveland to continue to contend....

Iman Shumpert's four year contract for ten million per year (year four is at Shumpert's option) gives the Cavaliers a shutdown level defender that can defend both small forwards and shooting guards.
Shumpert might be a player that fits better in a role on a winning team more than a key player on a lesser team and the salary paid Shumpert seems more reasonable than the contract that the Spurs gave Danny Green on the same day.
Shumpert should plug in as a starter,but could also come off the bench,if the personnel dictates.

Tristan Thompson looked close to a five year deal for eighty million dollars,but the reports are currently that the pair are still a little apart.
Thompson did play well last season,but keep in mind that he is a one-tool player right now and is still rolling into his offensive game.
I'm all for the Cavaliers retaining Thompson,but keep in mind that the more expensive that he is,the less money that Cleveland will have to spend on shooters and a badly needed veteran point guard.

Mike Miller picked up his player option for next season as expected.
A few million to basically practice and hardly play is a pretty cushy job and Miller figured to add the
option to stick around..

Planning on a Friday podcast,so stay tuned....

Cavaliers top Bulls 114-108 in Overtime!

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a lead,overcame a deficit and then outplayed the Chicago Bulls in overtime to even their record at 1-1 with a 114-108 victory in Chicago.
LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points with Kyrie Irving adding 23 points and Kevin Love notching a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Cleveland takes a few days off before a trip to the Western Conference for three games in Portland,Utah and Denver.

Swashbucklings

1) The Cavaliers battled back from five points down with less than a minute to go and when you
can overcome deficits like that,that shows that character is building.
The problem was blowing a nine point lead to start the quarter.
I'll be saying that this is part of a process for quite a while and we will see ups and downs,but being able to hang into games like this against good teams makes one hopeful...

2) Kevin Love finished with 16 points and 16 boards,but he still seems to be struggling with the flow of the David Blatt offense.
Love often looked out of sync and awkward with shooting of 5 of 17 of the floor.
Sometimes,coaches with systems have to tweak things to get the best from their talent.
There is a long,long way before we get to that point...

3) LeBron James did against the Bulls exactly what he didn't do against the Knicks-drove to the basket with abandon.
James' game depends on the drive to force defenders to lay off and he was back to the usual against Chicago.

4) My player of the game isn't any of the mentioned players.It's Tristan Thompson,who was the main support off the bench with a powerhouse night.
Thompson finished with a double-double himself with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The amazing thing was 12 of the boards were off the offensive glass against a team that is noted for being a strong rebounding squad.
Thompson might wind up being a player that is better suited as an off bench energy player to matchup against certain opponents and last night was a great game for the former Longhorn.

5) I was disappointed in Dion Waiters for the second game.
Waiters finished with 9 points on 3 for 10 shooting and still seems lost without the ball in his hands.
Waiters might (and I'm not leaping to a final judgement) be better suited to an off the bench role or more dramatically- a star on a team that features him with the ball.
Many,including me,have hope that Waiters would thrive as a secondary option,but thus far,the struggles are clear.

6) I missed a chunk of the fourth period as I drove to the road office,so I listened to the Chicago radio network and I heard the Bulls announcers complain about LeBron James getting all the calls.
They likely aren't wrong as that is the way the game is called in today's game,but a Chicago Bulls announcer complaining about the superstar status system?
They had that for Michael Jordan's CAREER and now they've found religion?

7) Before the game,Cleveland announced a three year extension for Anderson Varejao.
The extension is roughly for what Varejao currently earns and the final year is only partially guaranteed.
I'm not questioning the dollars,just keeping my fingers crossed for decent enough health.

8) Finally,this game was intensely played for a game that is the second of the season.
That intensity won't be revisited until they play again in January,but if that game is anything like the future battles-the likely Eastern Conference final just might be one for the ages....

Just two new Cavaliers?

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered last night's NBA Draft with two picks in each round and managed to come home with just two players for next season's Swordsmen.

As expected, the Cavaliers tapped Duke's Kyrie Irving as the point guard and centerpiece of the rebuilding effort.
I would have preferred Arizona's Derrick Williams, but I have little issues with plugging Irving in at point guard.
Irving joins a crowded spot at the point that will need to be winnowed a bit before the season, but more on that later.

With center Enes Kanter taken off the board by Utah at the third spot, most had the Cavaliers taking Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas with their selection with the fourth overall pick.
However, with a contract situation that could have seen Cleveland not see Valanciunas for as many as two seasons, the Cavaliers decided to go with a player that they could plug in and develop now in forward Tristan Thompson of Texas.

The 6'9 Thompson is reported to be an excellent rebounder and shot blocker, but limited in his offensive game.
So limited that ESPN's Jay Bilas offered this gem that Thompson "needs to learn to score by putting the ball in the basket".
That brought a puzzled expression from the lovely Cherie, who was only half listening and wondered aloud about that being an important part of the game, isn't it?
Looking at YouTube of Thompson (I do not use videos for basketball players because the music is usually just mind-numbingly awful), the player that he brings to mind is Atlanta's Josh Smith and I'll take that with no regrets.

In the second round, Cleveland chose another power forward, but this one with perimeter skills in Richmond's Justin Harper.
When I saw this pick, I was intrigued but two thoughts came to mind- one is can Cleveland have this many power forwards? and the other was didn't the Cavaliers just trade for a perimeter shooting power forward in Luke Harangody? It was irrelevant as Harper was quickly shipped to Orlando for two future second-rounders.
Considering that this pick was the second pick in the round, I was surprised that it did not have more value.

Cleveland finished up with another Euro Milan Macvan, who not only is a- Wait for it..
Power Forward, but ESPN's European analyst Fran Fraschilla stated he doubted Macvan would EVER play in the USA.
Wonderful.....

Looking at the roster, the team seems loaded (by numbers, at least) at power forward and point guard, so I don't think the deals are finished yet.

Irving, Baron Davis, and Ramon Sessions are one guard too many at the point and the addition of Thompson gives the team an abundance of 6'7'-6"9 guys that range from aging Antawn Jamison to J.J. Hickson and further down the chain.
Look for at least two players to be moved for a shooting guard and or small forward to unblock the logjam and add to the two weakest spots on the team.....