With injuries running wild in the Cleveland Cavaliers' roster, several players have stepped up to the challenge of helping lead the team in the playoffs. Kevin Love is out while Kyrie Irving continues to be day-to-day meaning others on the roster must take on more responsibility as LeBron James cannot do it all by himself. Tristan Thompson has been one of those players and he has picked the right year to do it considering free agency is just around the corner. LeBron James is making the case for the Cavaliers to keep him around.
Prior to the season beginning, ESPN.com reported Thompson turned down a four-year, $52 million contract from the Cavaliers. The risk has proven worth it as the forward has shown he is worth a lot more as he is expected to command a max deal. That type of contract will make it difficult for him to return to Cleveland, but James is pushing for Thompson to be a Cavalier for life.
"Tristan should probably be a Cavalier for his whole career," James said, via ESPN.com. "There's no reason why he shouldn't. This guy is 24 years old. He's played in 340-plus straight games, and he's gotten better every single season. It's almost like what more can you ask out of a guy, even though we ask for more out of him."
Thompson is putting together a career-best season. He finished fifth in voting for Sixth Man of the Year while averaging 8.5 points on 54.7 shooting percentage from the field. He is also having 8.0 rbeounds per game in 26.8 minutes played off the bench. The playoffs have proven Thompson can be clutch under pressure which is something the Cavaliers would be wise to keep around.
The issue is all of the other contracts the team has to deal with. Love has the chance to be a free agent and while he has stated his plan is to remain in Cleveland, he wants a max deal and several teams will be willing to give it to him. Currently out with a shoulder injury, the Cavaliers might be forced to decide between Love and Thompson in terms of contracts. If they can get Love to wait on a deal, the Cavaliers could keep both players, but that is wishful thinking at best.
Meanwhile JR Smith has a player option for 2015 he can opt to take worth $6 million. Iman Shumpert will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Timofey Mozgov has a club option for 2015. It seems likely that Smith opts in on his option while the Cavaliers pick up Mozgov's considering Anderson Varejao will be a free agent coming off a season-ending injury. Shumpert could be on the outside looking in next year.
