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.
Thompson is probably not going to an every game-type of contributor on the floor this coming season. He did not appear in regular season action in the 2022-23 campaign, and bounced around the season prior, in which he played for three NBA teams, as we noted.
Cavaliers fans should not be foreseeing Thompson being in the role he had in recent prior seasons, in which he was starting at the 5 in the second post-LeBron James years. Thompson was a regular in LeBron’s second stint with the Cavs, too, for what it’s worth; he won’t be doing so this coming season, aside from maybe the occasional injury-driven start.
Those caveats aside, Thompson should be able to serve as a mentorship presence, at minimum, for the likes of Evan Mobley and to some degree, still Jarrett Allen. Both of those players should stand to benefit from Thompson’s experience in the league, and with how he has aided his teams over the years with defensive communication, rebounding and interior play.
Furthermore, Thompson’s wealth of playoff experience is something this entire Cavaliers group can learn from, from the key young players, other rotational players and the coaching staff. Thompson went to four straight NBA Finals in those LeBron Return years, and was again, a crucial role player on the Cavs 2016 NBA Championship team.
Nobody should be expecting Thompson to have a litony of double-doubles with Cleveland in the 2023-24 season. He’ll be turning 33 next March, and did not play in the 2022-23 regular season, before he played sparingly for the Lakers in the 2023 Playoffs, when he played 32 total minutes over the course of three rounds.
Thompson can still give the Cavs some meaningful minutes as a rotational big, though.
He is not going to be the energy player he was in the LeBron Return days, but Thompson can still rebound at a high level at both ends of the floor, give the Cavaliers physicality on the interior, and he’s an underrated passing big.
Thompson is not the athlete at this juncture Damian Jones is vertically, and Jones is more of a rim protecting presence defensively, however, Thompson may eventually prove to be a better option for rotational stretches, given his veteran experience and rebounding proficiency.
To reiterate, while Thompson is probably going to have a big role from here with Cleveland, he can still give the Cavaliers a boost at times on the glass, and his on and off-floor leadership can be impactful for this group.
Thompson is third in Cavaliers history in total rebounds, sixth in total blocks and seventh in games played with the team. It’ll be fun to see Double T back in a Cavs uniform pretty soon.