Tristan Thompson

[CosmoKramer]

For whoever compared Thompson to Ibaka, you need to watch more Ibaka. His shooting is progressing like Bosh to the point I've seen Ibaka take and make 3's. He's also comfortable stepping out of the paint to take 15-20 ft jumpers. TT last night passed those shots up, dribbled into the paint, and still missed.

Why can't people read previous posts... I didn't compare their games, I compared their assist rates. Serge Ibaka has an incredibly low one for a PF, it's the 7th lowest for all qualified PFs in the league. He's not asked to be a distributor in the OKC offense, and neither is TT here. That's why a low assist rate isn't overly concerning for a PF, especially ones that are defensive/rebounding specialists.

 

[Cashius X]

I don't find his low assist numbers concerning in the least. He's not a big part of our offense and when he gets the ball he more often than not makes a move for himself in isolation.

What I do find concerning though is his low block and steals numbers. He's averaging .5 spg and .4 bpg. Amongst qualified players whom see as much time as TT I'd bet this ranks right around the the bottom of the league. Not good.

 

[Pioneer10]

Why can't people read previous posts... I didn't compare their games, I compared their assist rates. Serge Ibaka has an incredibly low one for a PF, it's the 7th lowest for all qualified PFs in the league. He's not asked to be a distributor in the OKC offense, and neither is TT here. That's why a low assist rate isn't overly concerning for a PF, especially ones that are defensive/rebounding specialists.

Not sure why you're getting so defensive. If TT looked like he could bring the shotblocking and jumper of Ibaka (or even show that he's likely going to develop those skills) then people wouldn't be pointing out his assist rate as another net negative. The problem for TT is that he's got a lot of holes in his game and if you're not going to be a good distributor and/or you're team is going to ask you to finish then you better be at least a damn good finisher and he isn't.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Not sure why you're getting so defensive.

Not sure why people can't be bothered to read a post before addressing it.

If TT looked like he could bring the shotblocking and jumper of Ibaka (or even show that he's likely going to develop those skills) then people wouldn't be pointing out his assist rate as another net negative. The problem for TT is that he's got a lot of holes in his game and if you're not going to be a good distributor and/or you're team is going to ask you to finish then you better be at least a damn good finisher and he isn't.

I wouldn't call him a damn good finisher either, but he isn't hopeless either. He's 8th in the league in dunks for PFs with 77, that's good for 16th in the entire league regardless of position.

 

[CosmoKramer]

What I do find concerning though is his low block and steals numbers. He's averaging .5 spg and .4 bpg. Amongst qualified players whom see as much time as TT I'd bet this ranks right around the the bottom of the league. Not good.

Yeah those a terrible numbers for a big. His block numbers are comparable to David Lee and Zach Randolph (two floor-bound over-30 guys, which is terrible.)

He had much better steal/block numbers as a rookie when he was camped under the basket as our lone rim protector, but our defense was terrible with him there.

 

[MD13]

Not sure why people can't be bothered to read a post before addressing it.



I wouldn't call him a damn good finisher either, but he isn't hopeless either. He's 8th in the league in dunks for PFs with 77, that's good for 16th in the entire league regardless of position.

He's 16th in the league in dunks because he has one move when he catches a pass off the drive: he goes down, gathers, and tries to dunk the ball two handed which is blocked about as much as it is successful. You conveniently forgot to mention that he's blocked about 1.3 shots per game (90ish for the season) and he's shooting 53% on shots <5 feet, both awful awful numbers.

 

[mhi]

Lloyd on his upcoming extension

LEVELAND: While all of the attention this season has been focused on Kyrie Irving’s upcoming contract extension, along with the will-he-or-won’t-he pursuit of LeBron James, there is another intriguing, equally important decision facing the Cavaliers this summer.
How much is Tristan Thompson worth? Or more accurately, what is Thompson worth in relation to other young bigs in the league, and are the Cavs willing to meet the price?
You might be surprised at how much he can command.
Thompson, like Irving, can be extended this summer. He is under the Cavs’ control for next season at a manageable $5.4 million, then any extension he signs would kick in for the 2015-16 season.
By then, he can expect to earn triple the $4 million he is making this year.
Thompson’s 29 double-doubles entering Saturday lead the Cavs, rank fifth in the East and are tied for 16th in the league. He has more double-doubles than Serge Ibaka, Paul Millsap, Jonas Valanciunas, Kenneth Faried and Derrick Favors.
He is durable, having played in 193 consecutive games prior to Saturday. He even played through a bout of food poisoning recently against the Los Angeles Clippers.
He’s a high-character guy, well respected in the locker room and active in the community. As a person, he is an organization’s dream. He just turned 23 a few days ago and should continue to improve with age.
But is he worth $12 million a season? The Cavs might soon have to decide.
The benchmark contracts for Thompson belong to Favors and Larry Sanders. The Milwaukee Bucks gave Sanders a four year, $44 million extension after he averaged 9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds last season while ranking second in the league in blocks and finishing seventh in Defensive Player of the Year rankings.
Sanders was drafted the year before Thompson but is two years older. He rewarded the Bucks’ investment by injuring his thumb during a nightclub brawl early in the season and things only regressed from there.
His shooting percentage plummeted this year, his defense wasn’t as stellar and now he has been shut down for the rest of the season following a fractured orbital bone.
Sanders’ final numbers for the season — 23 games, averages of 7.7 points and 7.2 rebounds and a .469 shooting percentage — are hardly worth the $11 million salary that begins next season.
Favors’ deal was even richer at four years and $49 million. He rarely started with the Utah Jazz prior to this season, but his numbers now are similar to Thompson’s.
Favors, a natural power forward selected by the New Jersey Nets with the third pick in 2010 (and later traded to the Jazz), is averaging 13 points, 8.6 rebounds and shooting .518 this season.
Thompson, a natural power forward taken fourth overall by the Cavs in 2011, is averaging 11.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and shooting .468 this season.
But Thompson seems to be wearing down lately, has struggled defensively and is one of the most offensively limited big men in the NBA. His .524 shooting percentage on shots within 5 feet of the rim is sixth-worst in the league (minimum 150 attempts) among all post players. He has also had his shot blocked 89 times this season, sixth-most in the league and fourth among bigs.
If Irving takes a max contract this summer and the Cavs extend Thompson at the going rate, they will have roughly $28 million tied up to those two players for the 2015-16 season — or about 45 percent of what you can expect the salary cap to be for that season.
Now you understand why the Cavs needed James to opt out this summer if he had any intention of returning. If James returns to Miami for even one more season, it will be increasingly difficult for the Cavs to fit in a max contract for a free agent in the summer of 2015.
And once/if Thompson signs an extension, it could be difficult to trade him anytime soon.
Teams are more leery of trading for future dollars than ever before. It’s why the Cavs couldn’t unload the final two guaranteed years on Jarrett Jack’s deal last month and why the Kings have been unsuccessfully shopping Jason Thompson since signing him to a five-year extension.
If the Cavs and Thompson are unable to come to an agreement this summer, he will play out next season and enter restricted free agency in the summer of 2015. The Cavs will have the right to match any offer he receives or risk losing him for nothing. The Jazz, after signing Favors to that big extension, are in a similar position with leading scorer Gordon Hayward.
Hayward will be a restricted free agent after the season and could command a four year, $50 million offer from another team. That team, in fact, could be the Cavs.
With Luol Deng expected to move on after the season, Hayward could be a fallback option if James remains in Miami.
Regardless of the targets, the risk for the Cavs this summer is overspending on a player simply because they’re going to have money available. They won’t have that money available in 2015 if both Irving and Thompson are locked into extensions, so they could feel the pressure to spend it now while it’s available.
Thompson’s performance in recent weeks has regressed. He’s averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in March, hasn’t recorded a double-double yet this month and his minutes have been reduced by coach Mike Brown in a handful of games.
One thought is that he has finally hit the wall after playing for Team Canada all last summer during the FIBA Americas tournament. He never received much time off because he was in the gym working on changing his shooting hand, now he’s enduring another mentally and emotionally draining season with the Cavs.
This March slump won’t cost Thompson millions, but it will give the Cavs something else to think about before making a big offer.
How high will they go? We’ll soon find out.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/jas...nother-layer-to-cavs-critical-summer-1.475546

IMO, I would try hard as hell to move on draft day for a 1st rounder, then continue to shop him throughout the summer. I would then let him hit RFA and let the market determine his price.

 

[Derek]

Not sure why people can't be bothered to read a post before addressing it.



I wouldn't call him a damn good finisher either, but he isn't hopeless either. He's 8th in the league in dunks for PFs with 77, that's good for 16th in the entire league regardless of position.

I won't call him hopeless, but 6th worst FG% within 5 feet is pretty bad.

 

[CosmoKramer]

I won't call him hopeless, but 6th worst FG% within 5 feet is pretty bad.

Yeah, he's not a great finisher. He's an undersized power forward that still plays like a center, he gets a lot of dunks and gets a lot of shots blocked because he's always trying to attack the rim, regardless if that's the right option. He lead the league getting his shot blocked last year.

That 15 footer would open up his game considerably, don't know why he's so hesitant to shoot it now.

And 12 million a year Lloyd? I thought I was being generous at 10... This situation is going to play out exactly like Greg Monroe's will this summer.

 

[I'mWithDan]

MO, I would try hard as hell to move on draft day for a 1st rounder, then continue to shop him throughout the summer. I would then let him hit RFA and let the market determine his price.

I think that's what the FO should do but Bennett having such an awful year makes that tougher.

Had Bennett put up 10 and 8 and shot 45-48% from the floor, TT would likely have been dealt this season in the right deal.

It's unfortunate TT flamed out so hard to end the year. He was showing a pretty steady improvement and then just hit a wall in March.

Just look at his last two months of the season:

February: 32.4 MPG, 13.2 PPG, 10.1 REB, FG% .530, TS% .575
March: 28.2 MPG, 8.5 PPG, 6.9 REB, FG% .427,TS% .482

I mean, that is just unbelievable.

His per 36 averages in those months:

February: 14.7 PPG, 11.22 REB
March: 10.9 PPG, 8.8 REB

Just some ugly stuff. The problem is, he just turned 23. If he were 26 or 27 it would be a lot easier.

It's really hard to pay 12 mil to him but it's also tough to essentially publicly say you're not willing to invest in someone that young that you took #4 overall.

Ultimately, you can't make the same mistake twice. IF you drafted the wrong guy that high, you can't also make another mistake in paying him a figure he doesn't deserve.

 

[Pioneer10]

Let him go if he's going to ask for 10-12 million a year. You have to save that type of money for true core pieces not average/above-average players.

 

[TeaLeaves]

another one of Grant's masterpieces. hated the pick when it was made and still hate it. If they can get any decent value in a trade for him, they should. 12 million for TT? Lord have mercy.

 

[*L-Train*]

The benchmark contracts for Thompson belong to Favors and Larry Sanders

i totally disagree with Lloyd about this. if TT were 2 inches taller and could play Center (a position that's much tougher to fill) like those two i would gladly pay him. right now the most i would offer him is Jason Thompson money (6-7mio/yr) and if he doesn't accept it move on. on twitter Taj Gibson was brought up as an example his agent might mention in negotiations with us but that guy can hit an open jump shot and is a better defender...
trade him or let him hit free agency (i don't think teams will be lining up to sign a PF who's as limited offensively and if he somehow makes a huge jump this offseason you can still match any offer that he's gonna get)...

 

[kovanovich]

I have to think the fact that Chris Grant is no longer GM changes the dynamics of a possible Thompson extension, and how much the Cavs will be willing to pay. Whoever is making the decisions this off-season will have less (or no) reason to be loyal to Thompson, and won't be trying to justify having drafted him at #4. The fact both Favors and especially Sanders have struggled may give the Cavs pause too. (I know, different players, different situations, but an organization can't help but be affected by recent experiences of other organizations.)

Thompson's bad March hasn't helped his cause either. At the end of the day, I doubt a player as offensively awkward as Thompson is going to command the type of contract suggested by Lloyd (that is, $12M/yr).

Extending Thompson for $10-12M per year starting in 2015 would obviously be more palatable if you had been able sign a big piece free agent (ideally Lebron) in 2014, and/or you had hit on your 2013 draft pick (which is still TBD at this time, but Bennett is certainly not a clear hit).

As it is, by extending Thompson (and Irving), the Cavs will be locking themselves in with a core going forward of Irving, Thompson, Waiters, Bennett, a re-signed Hawes, and the 2014 pick (likely at 8 or 9), with Zeller and an assortment of other young players on the fringe of the core, leaving them limited capacity to bring in additional talent. Where does that get you? What are the alternatives? Not re-signing Hawes gives you more flexibility, but then what was the point in trading for him? I'm not even considering Deng a possible piece for the future.

 

[elcheato]

Yeah, he's not a great finisher. He's an undersized power forward that still plays like a center, he gets a lot of dunks and gets a lot of shots blocked because he's always trying to attack the rim, regardless if that's the right option. He lead the league getting his shot blocked last year.

That 15 footer would open up his game considerably, don't know why he's so hesitant to shoot it now.

And 12 million a year Lloyd? I thought I was being generous at 10... This situation is going to play out exactly like Greg Monroe's will this summer.

Well, there are a couple of reasons. He's not a good shooter, which is the biggest reason. He just started taking right handed jumpers, and he seemingly can't take a straight up catch and shoot jumper. He has to step into it, it looks really awkward and he's not comfortable doing it.

I just can't see Thompson becoming a solid offensive player and am honestly willing to call him a lost cause on that end. His entire game looks so awkward and robotic, and to me, that's extremely difficult to over come. He's slow getting the ball up down low, as I already outlined, he has to step into all of his jumpers and won't go straight up with a shot, doesn't play athletic as he is because of the awkwardness/roboticness. Everything about him just tends to not look promising.