On Monday afternoon, plenty of Cleveland Cavaliers fans had to have been giving each another high fives with smiles on their faces.
Then, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Cavaliers signed big man Tristan Thompson to a one-year deal, of which was via the team-friendly variety. Cleveland area reporter Danny Cunningham stated how following the Thompson signing, Cleveland is set to be $1.4 million away from the luxury tax threshold, and they’re just shy of $8.5 million below the hard cap.
With the Thompson signing, the Cavaliers now have one open roster spot, and given they’ve typically entered recent prior seasons with one roster spot open, it would seem likely they’ll do so again. That’s particularly with them inching right near tax territory, and team president of basketball ops Koby Altman being adamant about them not wanting to be a tax team.
As it pertains to the Thompson signing, this involved the team bringing back a former longtime Cavalier. Thompson was with the Cavs for nine seasons, was a key role player for the team in the LeBron James Return years, and Thompson was a crucial energy guy on Cleveland’s 2016 NBA title-winning team.
Thompson was on the Cavs for two more seasons following those years, following LeBron’s second free agency departure, before Thompson would sign with the Boston Celtics. He had an uneven tenure with them before being traded to the Sacramento Kings, who would later deal him to the Indiana Pacers. He would sign with the Chicago Bulls after Indiana waived him shortly following his acquisition, and last season, Thompson played with the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.
We’ll begin with hitting on the first of our two realistic expectations for this Thompson re-signing next, involving his off-floor impact.