DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavaliers Off-Season Continues

Still showing how childish you are (can't resist bashing me like you're a 3rd grader)especially because I'm right...hate to say it but alot more people see the way I do than yours...and the fact that you say statistics shouldn't be used show how little you know about sports.

LeBron James is putting pressure on the Cavaliers to re-sign the player who threatened to leave if he didn't get a max contract


LeBron James feels Tristan Thompson is a key piece to the championship puzzle.

LeBron James wields an unprecedented amount of power within the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So, when James says the Cavaliers need to re-sign Tristan Thompson — the fifth-year power forward lingering in free agency — the Cavaliers are listening.

In an interview with ESPN's Brian Windhorst, James said he was happy with the Cavs' offseason, but bringing back Thompson remains their next order of business.

"Our No. 1 objective right now is to sign Tristan. He's a huge part of our team. Short term and long term he makes our team more dangerous ... Things need to be worked out from his side and the Cavs, but we need him back. I think our front office has done a great job this summer. The next step is to get Tristan done."

Windhorst reported earlier in August that six weeks after free agency hit, Thompson and the Cavs were in a contentious standoff over Thompson's next contract. Early in free agency, it was reported that Thompson was nearing a five-year, $80 million deal with the Cavs.

However, things suddenly went quiet and nobody knew why. Windhorst reported that Thompson was seeking a max. contract worth about $94 million while the Cavs were offering something lower.

Reports then surfaced that Thompson was considering taking the qualifying offer — a one-year deal worth about $6.8 million — to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, when the Cavs could no longer match any offer he receives. His agent said if this is the option Thompson takes, it'll be his last season in Cleveland.

Now, with LeBron once again trumpeting Thompson's value (he did the same during the playoffs, saying Thompson should be a Cav "for life"), it puts pressure on the Cavaliers to bend to Thompson's demands.

Many in the NBA world feel that one of the conditions of LeBron's return to Cleveland was that they build around him as he sees fit. That means going after who LeBron wants and sparing no expense to build a contender around him.

Last season, the grouping of LeBron-Kyrie Irving-Kevin Love proved to be successful once they warmed up. When Thompson was added to that group, they were the second-best foursome in the NBA offensively and overall, outscoring the opposition by 21.0 points per 100 possessions when those four were on the court together.

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Tristan Thompson
(Cork Gaines/Business Insider)

The Cavs, even if they gave Thompson an $80 million contract, averaging $16 million per season, are going to shoot into the luxury tax at near-historic levels. But LeBron — he who will continuously signs one-year contracts to increase his earning power and keep pressure on the front office — gives Cleveland's management the decision to pay the steep fees for a contender or risk angering LeBron by letting his buddy walk in free agency.

This doesn't mean the Cavs will give Thompson a max. contract, but with LeBron now speaking up twice about Thompson's value, it pushes both sides toward finding an agreeable long-term deal.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lebron-james-putting-pressure-cavaliers-170457222.html

He’s an undersized shooting guard who doesn’t shoot well, a career 36.4 percent shooter overall and 30 percent from three (he doesn’t have the handles to run the point or be a playmaker at the NBA level, either). He came into the league raw, a guy who had been able to get by on his athleticism but now was going to have to sharpen his skills, and that has not happened.

Now just what keywords in that resume did Griffin find appealing?

My guess is he's going to get Perkins-like minutes.

Yes ... he'll probably be brought in to slam dunk Kelly Olynyk through the rim and quip, "If he dies, he dies" ... then go back to the bench for the rest of the year.

Frank Isola (NY Daily News) is reporting the Cavs are one of a few teams that have interest in bringing in Jamal Crawford.

"Short-term and long term he makes our team more dangerous," James said of Thompson. "Things need to be worked out from his side and the Cavs but we need him back. He's an important resource."

James also said the Cavs' "front office has done a great job. The next step is to get Tristan done."

That's the thing ... I can't see any other team that would be willing to give him a max offer. He's a 8.5ppg-8rpg guy that made a couple of timely rebounds in the playoffs when everyone was focusing on Lebron.

Can you see other teams parading out their "Big Three", announcing something like: Carmelo Anthony, Robin Lopez and *record screech* Tristan Thompson? He can't make a shot outside of 5 feet. People employ a hack-a-TT defense on him in close games and he's a 6'9" "big" man. He's nowhere close to being a max player.

I think he's trying to compare himself to Greg Monroe and Enes Kanter. Those guys got questionable max-deals. But the thing is, both of those guys are a legit 6'11. They're true centers. They also put up 15-10 a night. And yet people still think they're both vastly overpaid. I can't see TT getting the same kind of overpaid deal that they did.

I gather that you don't think Dennis Rodman was a valuable player. Or Paul Silas. Or Wes Unseld. Or Bill Russell for that matter. Or Rick Mahorn.

Throwing out point totals when evaluating TT is perplexing. I understand that many people think offense is everything and that rebounding isn't important. Or that being a guy who does the dirty work on a team w/3 big time players isn't important, but some of us do appreciate the value of what that type of player brings to the team.

2 things, never a max player and worm was alot better as a rebounder and as a defender TT isn't even in the same planet.

I think the best thing for both sides is for him to sign the QO and look at the contract again next year.

Only two teams have enough cap room to pay Thompson the money he desires now, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers. However, Thompson is not on either team’s radar. As a result, Cleveland doesn’t want to compete against itself and overpay Thompson with looming luxury tax implications. That being said, a league source told Chris Sheridan last week that the sides are not as far apart on money as many have been led to believe.

Yes ... he'll probably be brought in to slam dunk Kelly Olynyk through the rim and quip, "If he dies, he dies" ... then go back to the bench for the rest of the year.

I gather that you don't think Dennis Rodman was a valuable player. Or Paul Silas. Or Wes Unseld. Or Bill Russell for that matter. Or Rick Mahorn.

Throwing out point totals when evaluating TT is perplexing. I understand that many people think offense is everything and that rebounding isn't important. Or that being a guy who does the dirty work on a team w/3 big time players isn't important, but some of us do appreciate the value of what that type of player brings to the team.

Different strokes for different folks. And the bottom line is that LeBron wants him back.

teamswish - Happy to say that I am returning to the Cavs! It’s been a long ride this summer but I can say for sure, well worth the wait. When I opted out of my contract, I wanted to understand the landscape of the NBA and where I fit best. The Cavaliers had things they needed to do in order to piece together a championship caliber roster. I ended up deciding that instead of potentially securing a larger deal elsewhere, I wanted to rejoin an incredible organization in pursuit of the ultimate goal, an NBA championship. Thank you to the Cavaliers for making this happen. Can’t wait to get started! #TheLand

Good to have him back. Sounds like he took a smaller deal too.

He had a $6.4 players option, and signed for $5 million, so he loses $1.4 million. However, he does pick up that player's option for 2016, so that's good for him.

Definitely. Probably a decent trade off to just picking up the option and seeing how things go.

Can't wait for the season. I really think they are going to pick up why where they left off before everyone got hurt. I think David Blatt should have a better feel for the grind of an NBA season, and how to manage his guys. I think this team could rack up a ton of wins, but I think they will comfortably get to 60 and still be able to give guys rest.

I think Kevin Love, as long as his shoulder is ok, will be really good for us. He doesn't have to worry about free agency or his future. I'm sure sitting on the bench and watching his team come within 2 games of a title put things into perspective for how he can make a difference. By the way, I love how all the national morons were wrong about him staying in Cleveland. League sources say hes gone. And they are all guilty of it. All of them. Local guys not so much they were just parroting what was being spewed on ESPN and other outlets.