Tristan Thompson–How Much Can One Skill Cost?

By Joshua Howe | Jul 30, 2015

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) fights for a rebound against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the second quarter in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers will re-sign Tristan Thompson. At least, that’s what LeBron James thinks. And since James has a huge say in what the franchise does with its club (as well as having the same agent as Thompson), it’s probably a good idea to believe him.

Honestly, there’s never been a sense of real fear around the team that Thompson would leave. He just came off of a pretty great overall playoff performance, and his value to the team is at an all-time high. He made leaps and bounds rebounding and defending this year; he was impressive to say the least.

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During the course of the playoffs, Thompson displayed one major skill that set him apart from everyone else around him: rebounding, specifically on the offensive end. The kid just has fantastic timing and he knows exactly where he needs to be to use his athleticism and length to snag the ball out of the air.

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He was part of the reason Cleveland was still a force to be reckoned with even after they sustained about a billion injuries during their Finals run. His energy was relentless and no matter who was guarding him, they couldn’t seem to keep him off the glass.

But Thompson’s performance seems to have become a little overblown. There began to be murmurs during the playoffs (and still a little now) that perhaps Thompson should be the one starting for the Cavs at the power forward spot in place of Kevin Love.

That’s complete blasphemy. Love is also a stellar rebounder, and he is worlds away a better offensive player than Thompson. He may not be the greatest team defender and less mobile, but Love is still the superior player.

Besides, there is no way in heck Love would re-sign with Cleveland for five years if he knew that he would be playing backup to Thompson. There’s just no way. The stoking of that debate needs to die.

Yet the big question still remains (and is most definitely why Thompson hasn’t re-signed yet): how much should he get paid for essentially being one of the league’s best rebounders?

The Cavs originally offered Thompson a four-year, $52 million deal that he turned down. He decided to bet on himself and he went out and made it happen. That’s now a double-edged sword for the Cavs; it was great when he was playing in a Cleveland jersey, but now that he’s a free agent, how much more can you (or are you willing to) pay him?

As has been mentioned numerous times before, the Cavs are paying a lot of money this upcoming season. They are sparing no expense to try and help LeBron bring a title home. But there comes a point when asking for too much is asking for too much. Thompson may have been better off taking the deal offered to him before the season began.

If he wants to stick with the team, he may have to make a little sacrifice, especially since he’s one of the last players Cleveland is trying to re-sign. It’s a bit of a stare down. Thompson can argue that he deserves more money, while the Cavs can shove a paper marked with the current roster under his nose and ask him if he wants a shot at making a repeat Finals run.

Ultimately, it seems more likely that Thompson’s camp will break. Someone will have to blink soon. And perhaps it will be for the better. Being one of the best at something is great, but when it’s all you’ve got to offer, your chips might not be worth as much as you thought they were.

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