Inside The Numbers
By Jeff Feyerer
Photo: USA TODAY Sports
After a highly publicized contract
negotiation, Tristan Thompson
and the Cavaliers finally agreed
on a 5-year, $82 million extension
just in time for the regular season.
And while Thompson was a vital
cog in the Finals, his contract likely
exceeds his value—having leveraged
a rising salary cap and Cleveland’s
lack of alternative options to obtain a
significant raise.
Parsing through the team’s on/
off numbers from last season gives a
good indication of Thompson’s true
value. Of the Cavalier’s key rotation
pieces, Thompson had the lowest
rating—his +2.8 per 100 possessions
roughly half of J.R. Smith’s, the next
lowest. Though the Cavaliers were
still better than opponents with
Thompson on the floor, the gap was
diminished.
At 24-years old, entering his
fifth season, Thompson still leaves
more off the table than he brings to
it. Though he’s one of the preeminent
offensive rebounders in the league,
finishing with the fourth highest
percentage, he appears to be up
against his ceiling with the ball in
his hands. Thompson did manage
to raise his field goal percent from
47.7 percent to 54.7, largely by
redistributing 23 percent of his shot
attempts to within three feet of the
rim. Though he isn’t a great rim
protector (one block per 36 minutes
last year), he slides his feet well at
the point of attack and can work in
tandem with Timofey Mozgov.
pick and roll partner should provide
a fair enough return on investment.
But that figure will loom large as
Mozgov approaches his own free
agency, with Love on board for the
long run and Anderson Varejao’s
contract likely untradeable.
The team will be able to attract
solid contributors at the end of
their line thanks to the presence of
LeBron James, but in order to justify
this contract, Thompson will have
to show he can manage manning
the center position alongside Love.
Cleveland is unquestionably the
Eastern Conference favorite due to
LeBron James, but the best possible
Going over the cap isn’t a
version of this Cavaliers team has
concern given the deep pockets of
Dan Gilbert, but tying up $16 million Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on
the floor. And while Thompson
a year for a non-starter in an area
with depth looks, on the surface, like undoubtedly makes them better,
that’s a large contract for someone
a mismanagement of resources. So
who plays the same position that two
long as LeBron James remains near
the height of his powers, Thompson’s of his three best teammates thrive at.
role as a low usage, high efficiency
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