Tristan Thompson

[Lee]

Personally, i'd be looking to package him for a Center.

I wish it were that easy. If we pay in 10-12 mill, what motivation does a team like Denver or any other team with an "extra" center have to trade him to us?

I agree 10-12 is where he should be at, but when you get the 14 mill range per his demands, he needs to be 6'11 or 7' to make it make sense. even if he is a full 6'9 which i believe he is, that is not legit center size.

Basically imo, signing Tristan gurantees he is a piece of our rotation for a long time as it wont be an easily moved type contract.

 

[Walter White]

Cavs fans have a tendency to love and overvalue our own players. I think that's what we are seeing here. Tristan is probably worth $10-11M per year at most. Rich wants a reward for assisting in the Lebron return so he wants $14-15M. Cavs offered a very generous $12.5M...he should've pounced on it. I hope it backfires big time. Maybe he blossoms, develops a reliable shot and takes his game to another level. I really have my doubts. Either way, i don't see him getting offered anything significantly more than the Cavs offered. So it was worth the risk. Let him prove he's worth it on a contender.

Personally, i'd be looking to package him for a Center.

I approve of this message. I agree with everything you said.

And I think everyone is caught up in his last game and prisoner of the moment if they think he should get that kind of money. We shouldn't give him 14 mil a year because "he got 12 offensive boards that one time". That being said, I think he will have a big year. I can see the improvements. But it should be put in perspective. His strength (rebounding) is something we already have plenty of now with Love, Andy, and hopefully a potential future center (as well as LeBron can pick up some slack). Tristan is an energy guy coming off the bench. I'd never pay someone that kind of money for the role he has.

 

[MRMsix6]

He wants $14M a year.

So do I.

No team in their right mind is going to pay him that money, even with an exploding salary cap. That's the kind of contract a team has to pay to get rid of.

I do want to keep him around as I don't think he's that easily replaceable, especially with the salary cap situation we're going to be in for the foreseeable future. Griff/Gilbert need to lay down the law here. Tristan can either stay here with his buddies on a great team on a reasonable contract, or he can try to get an exorbitant contract from some other team. Something tells me he'll choose door 1 because door 2 won't exist.

 

[Kbiz]

14 million a year is star money. TT is not a star, period.

Keep dreaming TT. I like your game but... with that request.

 

[Ohio]

TT made a bad business decision. There are a TON iof good bigs that will be free agents next summer. Nobody is gonna blow their cap to sign Tristan. He'll probably end up losing money by waiting.

 

[Cavsfan161]

might need another big rebounding effort up against the length of LA

 

[Arison]

Lmao 14m a year? -_-
I'd give him 9.5 for effort,
Worst agent / Ohio

 

[iamacavalier]

He wants $14M a year. You can find a player of his skillset for much less than that. I also think you are jumping the gun by calling him an "elite rebounder". He was 20th in the league in RPG, 33rd in RP48 and tied for 6th in ORPG. The offensive number may be considered "elite", i guess. But let's dig into it a little deeper. First, he doesn't play outside, so he camps out in the paint. Second, we were near the bottom of the league in overall FG%. So he had a lot of opportunities.





Here's the top 20 PT/REB double double guys...and their salaries this year.

Kevin Love - 65 - $15.7M
Andre Drummond - 57 - $2.5M
Demarcus Cousins - 53 - $13.7
Dwight Howard - 47 - $21.4M
Zack Randolph - 47 - $16.5
Joakim Noah - 47 - $13.4
Blake Griffin - 43 - $17.6
Al Jefferson - 42 - $13.5
Deandre Jordan - 42 - $11.4
Lemarcus Aldridge - 40 - $16M
Marcin Gortat - 37 - $10.4M
Anthony Davis - 36 - $5.6M
Nicola Vucevic - 36 - $2.9M
Tristan Thompson - 36 - $5.4M
Greg Monroe - 35 - $5.5M
David Lee - 34 - $15M
Paul Millsap - 30 - $9.5M
Pau Gasol - 30 - $7.1M
Tim Duncan - 30 - $10.3M
Serge Ibaka - 29 - $12.2M

Almost every player on that list has more dimensions to their game than Tristan. He just has a lot of limitations. He's a very good rebounder, but he's not a shot blocker and his defenders clog the lane because he has no range. This also makes life a little more difficult for our slashers.

We already have 3 very large contracts. If i'm adding a 4th it's going to be for a Center. Not for a guy who realistically is a 3rd or 4th big on most elite teams. I'm glad the Cavs balked. Let's see how this plays out. Will he still be in the top offensive rebounders now that(I assume) we will have a higher FG% and better finishers? Will he still be top 20 in double doubles? I also want to see how his +/- works out. He reminds me a little bit of Drew Gooden. Drew was able to stuff stats, but we generally played worse when he was on the floor. JJ Hickson has been the same way throughout his career.

Cavs fans have a tendency to love and overvalue our own players. I think that's what we are seeing here. Tristan is probably worth $10-11M per year at most. Rich wants a reward for assisting in the Lebron return so he wants $14-15M. Cavs offered a very generous $12.5M...he should've pounced on it. I hope it backfires big time. Maybe he blossoms, develops a reliable shot and takes his game to another level. I really have my doubts. Either way, i don't see him getting offered anything significantly more than the Cavs offered. So it was worth the risk. Let him prove he's worth it on a contender.

Personally, i'd be looking to package him for a Center.

I agree his play is not worth 12 million a year. But its what the market is willing to pay.

You are comparing players who are on contracts under the current CBA. Wait till the cap explodes and teams have a ton of cap space to throw at players. Contracts like Kenneth Farieds will be normal for a big man of his quality (which tristan is within range of faried)

But to act like its easy to find a replacement is going to be easy it will not be. Trade partners to find that center are necessary and thats not easy especially with teams who see you as a target. As you said we already have 3 max players taking up most of the cap space.

I think tristan will likely come out next year with a 10-12 million dollar contract from someone and we will match.

 

[Jack Brickman]

I agree his play is not worth 12 million a year. But its what the market is willing to pay.

You are comparing players who are on contracts under the current CBA. Wait till the cap explodes and teams have a ton of cap space to throw at players. Contracts like Kenneth Farieds will be normal for a big man of his quality (which tristan is within range of faried)

The cap won't explode for two years, and Thompson is a free agent in one. No one is going to offer him over twelve million as a restricted free agent. Greg Monroe is significantly better and more skilled and couldn't get anyone to offer him that kind of money. Thompson will be in a similar boat, and I think he'll find that out next summer.

He's a relatively unskilled big who plays at a deep, non-premium position. You don't throw big money at guys like that.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

I'm all for giving TT $14 million plus. It's gonna be a bargain. At his growth rate, he'll be 7'1" with a 7'8" wingspan and weighing in at 275 lbs by seasons end. Just a straight up monster. Don't forget he has already proven to be just a capable of a jump shooter like Dirk and Aldridge. Tornicade has posted stats backing that up.

 

[Hydroponic3385]

^Don't forget he's well on his way to learning how to shoot with either of his feet

 

[Zen]

He wants $14M a year. You can find a player of his skillset for much less than that. I also think you are jumping the gun by calling him an "elite rebounder". He was 20th in the league in RPG, 33rd in RP48 and tied for 6th in ORPG. The offensive number may be considered "elite", i guess. But let's dig into it a little deeper. First, he doesn't play outside, so he camps out in the paint. Second, we were near the bottom of the league in overall FG%. So he had a lot of opportunities.





Here's the top 20 PT/REB double double guys...and their salaries this year.

Kevin Love - 65 - $15.7M
Andre Drummond - 57 - $2.5M
Demarcus Cousins - 53 - $13.7
Dwight Howard - 47 - $21.4M
Zack Randolph - 47 - $16.5
Joakim Noah - 47 - $13.4
Blake Griffin - 43 - $17.6
Al Jefferson - 42 - $13.5
Deandre Jordan - 42 - $11.4
Lemarcus Aldridge - 40 - $16M
Marcin Gortat - 37 - $10.4M
Anthony Davis - 36 - $5.6M
Nicola Vucevic - 36 - $2.9M
Tristan Thompson - 36 - $5.4M
Greg Monroe - 35 - $5.5M
David Lee - 34 - $15M
Paul Millsap - 30 - $9.5M
Pau Gasol - 30 - $7.1M
Tim Duncan - 30 - $10.3M
Serge Ibaka - 29 - $12.2M

Almost every player on that list has more dimensions to their game than Tristan. He just has a lot of limitations. He's a very good rebounder, but he's not a shot blocker and his defenders clog the lane because he has no range. This also makes life a little more difficult for our slashers.

We already have 3 very large contracts. If i'm adding a 4th it's going to be for a Center. Not for a guy who realistically is a 3rd or 4th big on most elite teams. I'm glad the Cavs balked. Let's see how this plays out. Will he still be in the top offensive rebounders now that(I assume) we will have a higher FG% and better finishers? Will he still be top 20 in double doubles? I also want to see how his +/- works out. He reminds me a little bit of Drew Gooden. Drew was able to stuff stats, but we generally played worse when he was on the floor. JJ Hickson has been the same way throughout his career.

Cavs fans have a tendency to love and overvalue our own players. I think that's what we are seeing here. Tristan is probably worth $10-11M per year at most. Rich wants a reward for assisting in the Lebron return so he wants $14-15M. Cavs offered a very generous $12.5M...he should've pounced on it. I hope it backfires big time. Maybe he blossoms, develops a reliable shot and takes his game to another level. I really have my doubts. Either way, i don't see him getting offered anything significantly more than the Cavs offered. So it was worth the risk. Let him prove he's worth it on a contender.

Personally, i'd be looking to package him for a Center.

Great post Max.

I pose a question. With the TV deal expanding and knowledge that the cap will be growing are you looking at 14 mill a year through the lense of a current deal or what will be the new norm?

If we decide TT is worth say 10 mill a year now wouldn't 13.5-14 a year be the equivalent of that once the new TV revenue kicks in?

 

[Arison]

It makes me somehow angry, he should be thankful for getting 10m a year on a winning team
should be traded for a good big man with a low post threat, could handle other big man and be able to block shots.
Either trade him or wait till next year, clear some cap space and sign a good big man in FA

We have Varejao as a hustler, Just get a real big man worth 14m and we are monsters.

 

[Cayman13]

Makes me mad too, dude's got DELUSIONS of GRANDEUR.

 

[Arison]

Makes me mad too, dude's got DELUSIONS of GRANDEUR.

When I think about it 10m is too high aswell lol
On top of my head right now,
Gortat is 12m a year, Nene is 13m a year, Jordan Hill is 9m a year.
Jordan hill will be a FA next year and I think he is better than TT