The Washington Wizards are reportedly interested in Cleveland Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson, and it would appear there’s a logical trade scenario that’d be mutually beneficial.
At this point, the Cleveland Cavaliers need to start getting busy with the 2020 NBA trade deadline Thursday at 3 p.m.
The Cavs currently have big man Tristan Thompson as their key expiring trade chip, who is due to make $18.5 million in 2019-20, and expiring big John Henson I’d imagine could be a nice piece for teams looking to make a postseason push/solidify themselves.
As far as realistic salary fillers/good locker room veterans, guards Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight could also seemingly be on the move soon, though how much both would get playing time elsewhere is uncertain.
Along with the other expirings, big man Ante Zizic‘s contract is up following this season, too, considering his fourth-year option was reportedly not picked up early this season, but with a vestibular condition reportedly sidelining him indefinitely, I’d imagine the Wine and Gold retain him through the deadline.
Recapping the TT situation
Anyhow, Thompson again appears to be the Cavs’ key trade piece that they need to move in the next day or so, and with Thompson/his camp reportedly believing it’s a “priority” for TT to be moved by the deadline, according to The Athletic‘s Joe Vardon, Cleveland general manager Koby Altman and the front office needs to get a deal done to avoid potential further distraction for the Cavs.
Vardon reported that Thompson previously was interested in a contract extension with the Cavaliers, but now that is not the case. Thompson is also reportedly doubtful on Wednesday at the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sore right quad, which caused him to miss Monday’s game against the New York Knicks, too, but with the trade request news, him likely not playing again is far from shocking.
Now we’ll recap a few reported trade suitors for TT.
A Thompson suitor recap
As far as a few trade suitors for Thompson, it was previously reported that the Atlanta Hawks were interested in Thompson as a fallback option if Atlanta wasn’t able to land Clint Capela, but Houston did early on Wednesday.
There was a reported four-team trade in which the Hawks acquired Capela from the Houston Rockets, and also involved the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and also ESPN’s Bobby Marks and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
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Now Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor suggested that the Rockets could be a potential suitor for Thompson following them trading away Capela, which is understandable, but even with Houston reportedly having “$12 million in cap space” that could enable them to extend the deal and maybe involve the Cavs, Houston, as Fedor also noted, doesn’t have near salary-matching.
I don’t see the Rockets being a trade partner for Thompson, really, factoring in that, and involving other clubs isn’t the simplest scenario, but perhaps John Henson, who is leading Cleveland in blocks with 1.3 this season, per NBA.com, and who is due to make $9.7 million this season, could be a decent option.
The Athletic‘s Kelly Iko reported on Wednesday that the Rockets are currently “closing in on a deal for a center,” and in contact with two Eastern Conference teams regarding that, and also noted that along with a center, Houston is “willing to take on additional salary in exchange for assets.”
To me, that sounds more along the lines of Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, who has popped up in trade rumors and is due to make $18 million each season through 2022-23, or perhaps the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond, who could perhaps consider opting into a $28.8 million player option for next year, but I don’t see Drummond passing on free agency this offseason and I don’t see the Pistons giving up future assets there so I’m not sure.
Neither the Pistons or Cavs are teams that should part with assets, quite frankly, so I’m hesitant to see Houston as a landing spot for Thompson, but of course, a three-team deal could theoretically happen; Turner to Houston seems feasible, however, also taking into account that Turner is both a rim protector/runner, and can space the floor.
Albeit, the jury’s plenty out there still.
Additionally, Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix hit on the LA Clippers reportedly have some interest in Thompson’s services, and also “kicked the tires” on Kevin Love, but added that Love’s not a preferred target, seemingly with Love due to make $91.5 million these next three years.
Love is reportedly likely to stay in Cleveland through the deadline, too, with Cleveland seemingly accepting they won’t find a trade partner for him by the deadline unless they are absolutely blown away, according to Wojnarowski on a recent episode of his podcast, The Woj Pod, for reference.
Adding Thompson for the Clippers would seem to help them for postseason time, as Fedor, who suggested that Maurice Harkless ($11.1 million) and Rodney McGruder ($4.8 million) could be pieces send over for Thompson, and the Clips’ 2020 first-round pick. That being said, even though Fedor previously reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers want a first-round pick for Thompson, I’m still unsure if LA believes they could get Thompson in exchange, and also retain him following the season on a team-friendly deal.
Thompson wanting to be dealt has plenty to do with him/his camp valuing Thompson’s Bird rights, and would LA give Thompson bigger money than other teams in 2020 free agency? That’d be hard to believe to me, but I could be wrong, of course.