Tristan Thompson

Tristan not worried at all about his contract situation.

Arison said:

Wouldn't you think trading TT+Wiggins for Love and Dieng, keep the picks and Bennet be better cap wise and skill wise?
I think TT kind player can be found in an annualy first round pick especially for a championship team,
hustle and grit is mostly mental

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Wouldn't you think if we could have traded TT&Wiggins for Love AND Dieng AND keep the Miami pick that Griffin would have jumped all over that?

Dieng was never on the table. A draft pick to Minny or Philly always was. Minnesota never wanted TT. They had their sights on Thad Young for the short term and Bennett for the long term.

The deal that was made is the deal that was there.

As far as Terrence Jones goes, yes I love him as a player. The point is that we can not acquire players via FA in this era. So it's not about who you think is better than TT or who has a better contract, it's about, if you let TT walk for nothing, how do you replace him? With a vet min guy? With the taxpayer MLE. Or with resources(Memphis pick, Haywood contract, etc.) that could be used to to acquire other talent if we simply re-sig Tristan.

So it's not that every future projection of the Cavs HAS to include Tristan. But we have to continue to maximie our situation and I don't know how letting TT walk for nothing in return next year helps us.

MirORich said:

Wouldn't you think if we could have traded TT&Wiggins for Love AND Dieng AND keep the Miami pick that Griffin would have jumped all over that?

Dieng was never on the table. A draft pick to Minny or Philly always was. Minnesota never wanted TT. They had their sights on Thad Young for the short term and Bennett for the long term.

The deal that was made is the deal that was there.

As far as Terrence Jones goes, yes I love him as a player. The point is that we can not acquire players via FA in this era. So it's not about who you think is better than TT or who has a better contract, it's about, if you let TT walk for nothing, how do you replace him? With a vet min guy? With the taxpayer MLE. Or with resources(Memphis pick, Haywood contract, etc.) that could be used to to acquire other talent if we simply re-sig Tristan.

So it's not that every future projection of the Cavs HAS to include Tristan. But we have to continue to maximie our situation and I don't know how letting TT walk for nothing in return next year helps us.

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Ok, thanks..

He's taking advantage of it, and I think Lebron shouldn't back him up eventhough they have the same agent..
I mean, he is a solid backup but not more than that :/
a vet is not a good replacement cause he just cant give us the hustle that TT gives, hustle is always good for a backup player.
If TT could work his touch from 5-6 inch he would be much more valueable, it almost always goes in barely, and he gets block too often close to the basket.

I'm sorry, but a double double ironman power forward who was second in offensive rebounds last year is not easily replaceable.

If he's pulling down the amount of rebounds and getting the put backs/assists he was against the Bulls. That's pure effort and energy this team needs. We could sign drew gooden again, but we'd be even worse off.

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The Voice said:

I'm sorry, but a double double ironman power forward who was second in offensive rebounds last year is not easily replaceable.

If he's pulling down the amount of rebounds and getting the put backs/assists he was against the Bulls. That's pure effort and energy this team needs. We could sign drew gooden again, but we'd be even worse off.

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I agree, I think the Cavs might be trying for Monroe or another proven big and letting T.T use this to show he is worth it. I want to keep him and am someone who knows you can not replace a walking double double guy even coming off the bench. The offensive boards are what kept in games last year and if he can finish like he did against the Bulls he is worth it.

I personally think this is a win-win. We are going to overpay anyways so might as well have a more complete body of evidence that shows his progress. Playing with klove will maximize his one elite skill which is offensive boards. The contract hopefully won't leave such a bad taste in the mouth at that point

The Cavs did feel they budged a little in the last-minute negotiations with Thompson on Friday. They offered Thompson more than $48 million over four years. Agent Rich Paul is gambling that Thompson can get more than that on the open market. On the bright side for the Cavs, if Thompson wants a large contract, he must earn it. Read: He currently has millions of reasons to play the best basketball of his career.

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http://www.foxsports.com/ohio/story...mpson-anderson-varejao-west-coast-trip-110314

qaws23 said:

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I loved Kyrie and Love's reactions to TT dunk late in OT to seal the game... You can tell how bad they wanted to win the game and were extremely happy even if it was TT making the big play instead of themselves. Love to see that.

Maximus said:

"Probably floating around 250" - When i was there on Thurs his latest weigh-in had him at 234.
"Pretty clear that he's somewhere between 6'10" and 6'11" - I assure you, if Tristan was between 6'10 and 6'11"...he'd make sure the Cavs listed him as 6'11". If he was between 6'9" and 6'10", he'd make sure the Cavs listed him at 6'10". They list him at 6'9". The running joke is that his fro is taller...Kyrie told him he should keep it going and that he'd be 7'0" by Christmas.

TT was 131st in the league in Blocks per 48 minutes...that's 51st out of 64 Power Forwards...16 Point Guards and Shooting Guards ranked higher. For someone who is "actually of average size for even a center", that's pretty sad.

IF it makes you all feel better i'll rephrase - Power forwards of any size that can rebound, but can't spread the floor and don't block shots, should not get $12-14M a year. They are easily replaceable.

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He is EASILY replaceable? Thats a pretty bold statement... I would not call an elite rebounders (especially offensive rebounders) easily replaceable.

We will win several games this year because our rebounding is so good. That's a major reason why we beat the bulls. And he is already on the roster which makes him less replaceable with the salary cap.

He isn't the perfect forward but he is young and still developing. To say we can easily replace a double double guy who has chemistry with our current team and was 2nd in the league last year in O Boards easily is just wrong.

Agents using Gilbert's words of spending anything to keep this machine going forward against him.

ChicagoCavFan said:

Agents using Gilbert's words of spending anything to keep this machine going forward against him.

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I think Gilbert's response to that is that he's willing to play players what they're worth even if that puts him into the cap, but he's not willing to overpay players.

I'm fine with waiting until the end of the season. Not only does that give us a better idea of exactly what he's worth, but it also allows us to see who else is out there, and at what price. Although I'd agree that he's a very good fit given that he can contribute in a big way without having any plays run for him. Be better if he was longer and a better rim protector, but you don't want to let the perfect be the enemy of the very good.

iamacavalier said:

He is EASILY replaceable? Thats a pretty bold statement... I would not call an elite rebounders (especially offensive rebounders) easily replaceable.

We will win several games this year because our rebounding is so good. That's a major reason why we beat the bulls. And he is already on the roster which makes him less replaceable with the salary cap.

He isn't the perfect forward but he is young and still developing. To say we can easily replace a double double guy who has chemistry with our current team and was 2nd in the league last year in O Boards easily is just wrong.

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The main issue with the Heat was rebounding too. Controlling possessions through rebounds just increases the margin of error for your team. The cavs had no real business winning the game against the bulls shooting as poorly as they did.

Douglar made a chart a long time ago about how elite teams don't often have good offensive rebounding because they shot so well. So far it looks like this team is going to have that and I personally believe it's the thing that is going to make this team historically good. The Kobe assist is going to be big for us.

iamacavalier said:

He is EASILY replaceable? Thats a pretty bold statement... I would not call an elite rebounders (especially offensive rebounders) easily replaceable.

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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.

iamacavalier said:

We will win several games this year because our rebounding is so good. That's a major reason why we beat the bulls. And he is already on the roster which makes him less replaceable with the salary cap.

He isn't the perfect forward but he is young and still developing. To say we can easily replace a double double guy who has chemistry with our current team and was 2nd in the league last year in O Boards easily is just wrong.

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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.

He wanted fourteen a year? Man, I wish I was friends with LeBron James.

Wow way too much. I just can't see him getting that. They will match and save money.