When the news leaked in mid January that Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson had declined a 4-year, $52 million dollar extension from the team, multiple people were shocked. At the time, trying to convince yourself that Thompson was worth $52 million dollars was pretty much impossible. He was coming off the bench and averaging 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and while he was a valuable piece to the puzzle for the Cavaliers, many believed he was replaceable.
Then, the playoffs happened.
After Kevin Love got his shoulder yanked out of place via Kelly Olynyk, Thompson was asked to step into the starting power forward spot. The general consensus was with Love gone; the Cavs title hopes were pretty much gone too. Whereas Love posses’ one of the most unique and gifted offensive skill sets for a big man in the league, with his ability to stretch the floor, throw bullet outlet passes and dominate in the post, Thompson was basically an offensive scrub when compared to Love.
People came to the conclusion that there was no chance Thompson would be able to replace Love but while individuals who watched the Cavaliers on a daily basis and years beforehand knew what Thompson was going to bring- energy, hustle and an insane will to win- the bright lights of the playoffs and NBA Finals allowed Thompson to shine bright and become a household name.
Thompson’s numbers weren’t special in the playoffs. 9.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game but it’s never been about the numbers for Thompson. His tenacious assault on the boards, his bouncy, athletic legs, his energizer bunny mentality and his brunt determination were all attributes that allowed him to shine throughout the post-season and it become clear that Cleveland needs Thompson. His performance in the post-season proved how important he is to the team and he received a vote of confidence from LeBron James.
LeBron takes a stance on Tristan Thompson's impending free agency: "Tristan's a guy who should probably be a Cavalier his entire career"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 25, 2015
So, over the past eight months we have discovered that Thompson turned down a whole lot of money, become a Cavalier darling and is vitally important to the team and that James wants him to stay. There should be no drama in securing Thompson to a long-term deal to stay in The Land then, right?
Wrong.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Cavs and Thompson find themselves in a very sticky situation:
"With contract talks at an impasse for a month, the agent for restricted free-agent forward Tristan Thompson warned the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday that if his client is forced into accepting a one-year contract, the upcoming season will be his last season with the team.“If [Thompson] is on the qualifying offer, [this] will be his last year with the Cavs,” agent Rich Paul told several media outlets, including ESPN."
It’s known that Thompson wants an almost (or a full) max-deal in Cleveland, which would pay up around $94 million over the next five years. On face value, it seems to be a ridiculous price for Thompson, despite how valuable he is to the team. Although, when you consider that Thompson’s agent is Rich Paul, who has a history of getting his clients big contracts, no matter how long it takes (see: Eric Bledsoe), you start to understand why these negotiations are taking so long. Paul is simply trying to get the best for his client and has played his cards to the Cavs. Thompson and Paul have backed Cleveland into a corner and it’s now the time for the Cavaliers to respond.
That response is simple- pay the man.
I touched earlier on how important Thompson is on the court for the Cavs but lets dive in a little deeper. Thompson’s innate ability to use his quick feet to switch onto guards in pick and roll situations is a luxury the Cavs can’ afford to lose.
Why?
Well, not only does it give Cleveland, a moderate, at best, defensive unit, different schemes to throw at opponents but, well simply, no other of the Cavalier big men are capable of switching onto guards. Thompson isn’t a great rim protector (he averaged 1.0 blocks per 36 minutes last season and allowed opponents to shoot 52.2% from within five feet of the basket) so his ability to switch onto guards on the perimeter saves him from being a limitation on the defensive end. Cleveland simply cannot afford to loss that special talent that Thompson brings.
Also, Thompson is able to make a positive impact on the offensive end, despite his ridiculously low usage rate.
During the regular season, Thompson’s usage rate was a tiny 14.0%. Due to the attention opponents paid to the likes of James, Love and Kyrie Irving, Thompson was able to do his work without being a clog in the Cavs offensive. You would think that with his increased role in the playoffs that Thompson’s usage rate would also increase? Nope. Amazingly, Thompson ranked third last in all players who played at least 250 minutes in the post-season for usage rate, as he had a miniature 11.2% usage rate in the post-season. Thompson can’t do much on the offensive end but what he does; he does efficiently (evident by his 55.8% field goal percentage in the playoffs).
Thompson is able to finish around the basket and has improved his hands as his career has progressed. Thompson isn’t an offensive star by any means but his effectiveness and low usage rate on that end is something Cleveland needs to cherish because not many players are like that any more.
The final aspect of Thompson’s game that Cleveland cannot afford to loss is the best part of his game- rebounding. Throughout the playoffs Thompson averaged 10.8 rebounds a game, with 4.4 of them coming on the offensive glass. Now the Cavs have one of the best rebounders in the entire NBA in Love but even he doesn’t provide the offensive rebounding mastery that Thompson does.
During the regular season, Thompson had an offensive rebounding rate of 14.4% (which ranks 79th all-time in NBA/ABA history according to Basketball Reference) and despite that number dropping to 13.5% in the playoffs, there is no doubt that Thompson is one of the leagues best offensive rebounders and on a team with as much offensive power as Cleveland, second chances are killers for opposing teams. In addition, Thompson also had an enormous rebound frequency of 98.2% last season (which increased to 100.0% in the playoffs) and had a 47.4% contested rebound percentage (45.8% in the playoffs). Thompson’s numbers back up his rebounding, mainly offensive, expertise and the Cavaliers simply cant loss that talent.
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It would be quick and easy to call Thompson greedy for leaving so much money on the table. It would be quick and easy to conclude he isn’t worth a max contract and heck, he probably isn’t. But remember, a max contract now will look like an average one in just a few years time. The sharp increase in the NBA’s salary cap in the coming years is well know league-wide and you can bet that Paul isn’t going to let one of his prime clients miss out on a slice of that pie.
If the Cavaliers don’t offer Thompson the big bucks, it will be them who are left pie-faced in a couple years time. Thompson brings such a unique and vital skill set to Cleveland and it is one that the team simply cannot afford to loss, no matter the price tag.
Do you believe the Cavaliers should pay big money to keep Tristan? Let us know in the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter @lukesicari with your thoughts!