King James Gospel
Fansided

Ranking the 5 Cavs most likely to be traded

By Quenton S. Albertie

Cleveland Cavaliers J.R. Smith (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers J.R. Smith (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 21: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 21: Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Tristan Thompson

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson, who has spent his whole career with the franchise after being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, is the longest-tenured player on the roster.

However, he’s one player who is clearly in the way of a younger and better player getting minutes.

In J.R. Smith’s case it was primarily Rodney Hood whose playing time he was effecting. In Thompson’s case it’s Larry Nance Jr. and Ante Zizic.

Nance Jr., a rim-running center like Thompson, has a bigger impact as a defender because of his shot-blocking, defensive awareness and athleticism. While having a jumper that he can make a respectable weapon, he’s also a bigger threat inside than Thompson though Thompson had shown a better touch around the rim last season.

He’s better than Thompson but Thompson affects his playing time because they’re similar players.

As far as Zizic is concerned, there’s no question that Zizic is the much more dynamic scoring threat. He’s a low-post savant that looks a lot like the other European centers in the NBA; he’s highly-skilled with impressive footwork.

The question for Zizic is if he can keep up with players on the perimeter. If he’s able to make a ball-handler pick up his dribble, using his size and effort, there’s absolutely no reason for Thompson to be in front of him on the depth chart.

In sum, while there are some games where Thompson is arguably the best center on the roster, he’s — generally — arguably the worst center on the roster.

That’s too much variance for a player earning $17.5 million for a rebuilding team.

He’s still a quality player and he certainly proved his worth in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals with excellent defense against Boston Celtics All-Star Al Horford. At 27-years-old, he’s in the prime of his career.

That said, he’s one of the Cavs veterans with the highest trade value.