Tristan Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Thompson, Griffin, Gibson

May 5th, 2015 at 8:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tristan Thompson is showing the Cavs his value with his aggressive rebounding and play around the rim during the playoffs, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. While there is a call around the league for big men who can stretch the floor with their shooting, Thompson is focused on continuing to improve in the paint area, Camerato notes. “You try to come back every year with something better and add something to your game,” Thompson said. “For me, I’m going to continue getting better and working on my game. Who I am now is not who I’m going to be a year from now or moving forward. I still want to get better and add things to my game. But for this year, for this team, which is my priority and my main focus, is how I can be an asset and help.” The 24-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer provided the Cavs tender him a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

While LeBron James‘ return certainly revitalized the Cavs franchise, GM David Griffin was the one who laid the groundwork for the team to contend this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. The rookie GM finished second to Golden State GM Bob Myers in the voting for Executive of the Year for the 2014/15 campaign.
Timofey Mozgov has fit in seamlessly with the Cavs since being acquired from Denver earlier this season, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes in his profile of the Russian big man. “It does seem like he has been here longer than just since January,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “He is a guy who makes things fun off the court, but you know on the court he is going to have your back. He is tough. That is big for us.”
While the additions of Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic have diminished his playing time and stats this season, Taj Gibson could be the key to the Bulls advancing in the playoffs, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Taj is always important,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s the one thing you can’t overlook, what he brings to our team, his defense, his rebounding. He’s probably our best low-post defender. He’s our best guy at moving his feet. Offensively it’s hard to put a small on him — he can overpower you inside with his post game. Second shots. He’s got a good 17′ shot, it’s not like you can disregard him. You’ve got to pay attention to him. He’s critical for our team.“

Cavs Notes: Love, James, Thompson

April 25th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

As painful as it was for the city of Cleveland, LeBron James‘ departure for Miami back in 2010 laid the groundwork for the Cavs’ title chances this season, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. If James had remained, the franchise would not have been in the position to draft Kyrie Irving, nor have had the opportunity to select Andrew Wiggins, who was the centerpiece of the deal to acquire Kevin Love, Bulpett notes.

“Could he have won a championship if he stayed here? We’ll never know,” said former Cav Jim Chones, who is the team’s radio color commentator. “But we do know this, and this is a fact, that we’re better than we were the first time he was here. And we also have other opportunities down the road because of draft picks that we’ve stored up, so Cleveland is in a position where they’re going to be good for a while, not just a flash in the pan. Looking back to when LeBron left, philosophically speaking, it created an acute awareness within our organization that we had to be better at everything we did. Him leaving … we were so dependent on him, as most teams are with the super players, that it put us in a position that we weren’t prepared for.”

Here’s more news out of Cleveland:

Though their relationship hasn’t been perfect this season, James understands the difficulties that Love has had to deal with since coming to the Cavs, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio relays. “He’s been highly criticized this year,” James said. “I know why. For a team that finally gets together, when you have a ‘Big Three,’ they’ve got to find someone. When I was in Miami, Chris Bosh was that guy at one point. I’ve seen it before. When you’ve been in position where you’ve had your own team and now you come and join forces, at one point in Miami we were 9-8. They started pointing fingers at anybody. They’ve got to find somebody.“
The Cavs’ role-players are proving this postseason that Cleveland is more than just the “big three,” Tom Withers of The Associated Press writes. Just as James, Irving and Love have had to make personal sacrifices, the Cavs’ second-stringers have forgone individual accolades for team success, Withers adds. “It’s like a company. You have your janitor, your CEO. You have your secretaries,” said Tristan Thompson, who knows that his job is to bring energy as a reserve. “I don’t mind being the cleanup guy, punching the clock. I’ll do all the little things.”

Cavs Rumors: Thompson, Jackson, Love

January 14th, 2015 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs offered Tristan Thompson a four-year, $52MM extension this past fall before the October 31st deadline for rookie scale extensions passed, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Opposing teams aren’t gearing up to make that rich of an offer to Thompson in restricted free agency this summer, Wojnarowski writes, adding that rival executives were expecting Thompson to sign an extension for between $10MM and $12MM a year. Here’s more on the Cavs, who’ve sunk beneath .500:

Wojnarowski suggests in the same piece that the Cavs understand they have little choice but to turn to Mark Jackson if LeBron James won’t play for David Blatt. Cavs brass “wanted nothing to do” with hiring Jackson as a coach before James came back to Cleveland, Wojnarowski adds. Jackson and James are both clients of agent Rich Paul.
Cavs players have frequently and openly spoken about the team’s coaching issues with players and other personnel from opposing teams, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
The Cavs indeed met with Kevin Love before their trade to acquire him from the Timberwolves was official, as Windhorst writes in the same piece, noting that if the two sides talked about any contractual terms during the visit, it would have violated league rules. Love said Tuesday that he plans to opt in for next season, a likely financial sacrifice.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Deng, Thompson

January 8th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets‘ Deron Williams, who is the subject of trade rumors, will be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed one of his ribs was fractured, Roderick Boone of Newsday reports. “Deron reported some soreness above this area over the weekend and as a result underwent imaging studies on Monday, which were negative,” team physician Riley Williams III said in a statement. “[Wednesday] during the game, he reported a new onset of symptoms below the prior area of soreness. New imaging studies done [Thursday] demonstrated the fracture. There is no timetable for his return.”

Here’s more from the East:

Luol Deng is rumored to be on the trading block, with the Grizzlies a possible suitor, but despite the Heat‘s struggles this season, Deng insists he doesn’t want out of Miami, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel reports. “I’ve had no issues,” Deng said. “My whole thing I’ve been saying this year is we’ve been trying to get it right, fit everybody in. It’s never that I’m unhappy or anything. Just because they’re trade rumors, I’m not the one asking for trades.“
Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida examined a number of potentially available players with whom the Heat could upgrade their roster, including Andray Blatche, Samuel Dalembert, Tyler Johnson, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson.
When informed that the newly acquired Timofey Mozgov would be taking his place in the Cavs‘ starting lineup, Tristan Thompson handled the news like a true team player, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I’ve come off the bench most of the season,” Thompson said. “Whatever it takes for us to win. [I’ll] come out and join the bench mob again. Bring the energy with myself, Delly [Matthew Dellavedova] and all the other guys so that’s a role that I embrace and I’m trying to be the X-factor.“
One thing that J.R. Smith will miss about being with the Knicks is his friendship with Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Kernan of The New York Post writes. “I was upset that I don’t get to play with my best friend who I’ve played with for the last nine or 10 years,’’ Smith said. “We’ve been together so long and we complemented each other so well from the inside out game. Off the court too, we hung at each other’s houses.”

Central Notes: Blatt, Sanders, Cavs

January 3rd, 2015 at 5:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are some insiders around the league who believe that the Cavs‘ David Blatt is coaching for his job this month, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes. Amico opines that Blatt could be fired by mid-January if the team takes a nosedive without LeBron James in the lineup the next two weeks. Cleveland is also missing Anderson Varejao, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

With Larry Sanders out indefinitely for personal reasons, Zaza Pachulia says that the Bucks need to move on without him, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s a very important time of the season, so we should concentrate on the team, to play the right way and win as many games as possible,” Pachulia said. “That’s our job and we’re going to continue to work hard. Whenver Larry comes … obviously his locker is still here …he’s going to address it. It’s up to him. But we know it’s a personal reason. That’s all we heard.“
With speculation beginning to grow that Blatt is on the hot seat in Cleveland, Terry Pluto of The Northeast Ohio Media Group believes that adding a big man would do more to help the Cavs improve than bringing in a new coach would.
Tristan Thompson is taking all the talk about the Cavs needing a rim protector to heart, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Thompson is determined to up his game and quell the criticisms of Cleveland’s interior defense, Haynes notes. “I know I can block shots and I’ve got to do it,” Thompson said. “That’s part of my job as a big. That’s one of the reasons I was drafted because I blocked three shots a game in college so I got to continue doing that in the NBA. So I was disappointed in myself that I wasn’t being called a rim protector. I just got to do my job.”

And-Ones: Cavs, D-League, Temple

November 3rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Not surprisingly, three of the NBA’s four unbeaten teams reside in the Western Conference, where the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies are all 3-0. The East’s lone unbeaten is the franchise that’s won the last four conference championships, but it’s nonetheless surprising to see the Heat back atop the conference standings after they lost LeBron James this past summer. While we wait to see if Miami will continue to reign without King James, here’s the latest from around the league:

The Cavs feel like they made concessions in their final extension offer to Tristan Thompson, which exceeded $48MM over four years, but neither side has any hard feelings in the wake of the failed negotiations, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
NBA teams kept the D-League rights to 47 players cut during camp this year, the D-League announced, listing all of them. The Mavs, Warriors and Suns used all four spots available to each NBA team to reserve the rights to such players, so they can’t keep the D-League rights to anyone they waive during the regular season, unlike the rest of the teams in the NBA. Renaldo Balkman, Bernard James, Doron Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, Peyton Siva, Malcolm Lee and Earl Barron are this year’s “affiliate players” with NBA experience.
Garrett Temple refrains from drinking, smoking and tattoos, and he’s convinced the straight-arrow approach has helped him win jobs during his career, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes. Injuries to others have thrust Temple into the starting lineup for the Wizards, who re-signed him this summer for two years at the minimum salary.

Eastern Notes: Thompson, Iverson, Knicks

November 1st, 2014 at 8:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Uncertainty over the future of the salary cap prevented Tristan Thompson from signing an extension with the Cavaliers, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain-Dealer. With a new TV contract taking effect during the summer of 2016, there are estimates that the cap could soar by 25%, dissuading players and teams from committing to long-term deals. Pluto notes that Thompson, represented by Rich Paul, who is also the agent for LeBron James, should have extra value because of the scarcity of quality big men. There’s more on the Cavs amid our look around the Eastern Conference:

Cavaliers coach David Blatt may be new to the NBA, but that didn’t stop him from tearing into his team following its opening-night loss to the Knicks, as Zach Harper of CBSSports,com details. “He got on us from the time we started our meeting to the time we left,” said Cavs star LeBron James. “And it’s great. For a team like us, we need that.” James said the first-year coach definitely got the players’ attention with his tirade.
The Celtics have to be encouraged by the play of former second-round pick Colton Iverson in the Euroleague, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of Celtics Insider. The 7-footer had 17 points and six rebounds and hit the game-winning basket for Kutxa Vitoria in a recent victory over Galatasaray Liv Hospital. “That’s my style of play,” Iverson said during his stint with the Celtics’ summer league team. “I’m always gonna be someone who is a pest to play against. I take pride in the way I play physical, and [being] a menace.” The Celtics acquired Iverson’s draft rights on draft night in 2013.
Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com blames a lack of talent, not the Knicks‘ new triangle offense, for the opening night blowout loss to the Bulls. O’Connor writes that even though the Knicks will be clearing a massive amount of cap room this summer, players such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol are unlikely to leave their current teams. O’Connor speculates that the Knicks could chase Rajon Rondo next summer, or endure another losing season and go after Kevin Durant in 2016.

Cavs, Tristan Thompson Extension Talks Fail

October 31st, 2014 at 10:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tristan Thompson won’t receive a contract extension from the Cavs, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Cavs offered the former No. 4 overall pick more than $48MM, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link), but even though Thompson appeared to be seeking the salaries of around $12MM a year that such a deal would entail, he’s set to hit restricted free agency next summer. The Cavs were limited to offering no more than four years because they gave Kyrie Irving a five-year extension in July, reserving the team’s Designated Player slot for the point guard.

Negotiations between the Cavs and the Rich Paul client were a back-and-forth affair that went up to the final hour, with a Thursday report of optimism surrounding the talks giving way to pessimism earlier today. Still, it appeared the chances of an extension were a toss-up by this afternoon, and Thompson made his case this evening in Cleveland’s overtime win against the Bulls, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Thompson authored that performance coming off the bench, having lost out in a preseason battle for a starting spot against Anderson Varejao, whom the Cavs signed to a three-year, $30MM veteran extension earlier today. A report indicated that Thompson and Varejao would likely have made about the same amount if they’d both signed extensions, but it appears the Cavs were willing to give in excess of $2MM a year more to Thompson. Executives around the league have kept a close eye on the Thompson talks to see just how much power LeBron James has over the Cavs organization, since James and Thompson are both clients of Paul.

Cleveland only has about $31MM in commitments for next season, including Varejao’s extension, but that number is artificially low because it doesn’t account for player options worth more than a combined $38.3MM for James and Kevin Love. Both would likely command greater amounts were they to decline their options, perhaps sending Cleveland’s 2015/16 team salary north of $70MM. A salary of greater than $12MM for Thompson would probably put the team into tax territory, making it harder for the Cavs to upgrade their roster, as Cray Allred of Hoops Rumors pointed out when he examined Thompson’s extension candidacy.

Extension Rumors: Thompson, Cavs, Butler

October 31st, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie scale extensions is fast closing in. Here’s the latest on talks around the league, with any additional updates that come in throughout the evening added to the top:

Final-hour talks are taking place between the Cavs and representatives for Tristan Thompson, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). The team has offered more than $40MM, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter). A deal was a 50-50 proposition as of this afternoon, as Amico heard (Twitter link).
Butler struck a somewhat different tone before the Bulls‘ game against the Cavs tonight than his agent did when he indicated that talks were through (below), as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays. “We still want a deal,” Butler said. “I still want to be here. I still want to have nothing to worry about. So we have until 11:59 [Eastern time] to figure it out. I’m not a personal guy. I don’t take everything to heart. I understand it’s a business. I just have to be a great basketball player. I think this team is really good, championship caliber. I am a part of this team; I am going to produce. I’m going to guard. I will take care of myself. I think there’s not too much I can do right now. I’m done talking about it.”
Still, Bulls GM Gar Forman said that both sides had agreed to end discussions for now and pick back up again in restricted free agency next summer, Smith notes.
Butler also said that he believes he’ll remain with the Bulls whether it entails signing an extension or a new deal next summer, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

5:40pm updates:

Butler has rejected the Bulls‘ “final offer” and plans to enter restricted free agency next summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Butler’s agent, Happy Walters, said, “All the [rookie extension] deals done so far have shown that teams are building around their stars of the future, and they’re compensating those players as such. I was under the impression Jimmy was also viewed as one of those future building blocks with the Bulls. We tried like heck to get something done, but ultimately, the Bulls wanted a ‘hometown’ discount. While understandable, I doubt their GM or coaches give Mr. Reinsdorf a discount when negotiating their own deals.”
Butler had told his teammates that he was willing to play out the season unless the team upped their “final” offer, K.C. Johnson tweets.
The Wolves and Rubio are making progress on a four-year extension, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski’s sources, there’s optimism, but no deal in place yet.

3:58pm updates:

The Wolves are now willing to go higher than $52MM in four-year offers to Ricky Rubio and the team is on board with a deal as long as Rubio is, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune believes that a deal would have to be for at least $55MM over four seasons (Twitter link).
The Bucks and Brandon Knight weren’t too far apart in extension talks before ending them today, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
Conversely, the gap appears wide between the Bulls and Jimmy Butler, and the chances of a compromise don’t appear to be high, as Goodman also hears (Twitter link). Chicago has been willing to consider a player option in his deal, something the franchise doesn’t ordinarily do, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter), but talks aren’t progressing, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).

Cavs Sign Anderson Varejao To Extension

October 31st, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers and Anderson Varejao have officially signed a contract extension, the team announced. The extension is believed to be for three years, and approximately $30MM, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Thursday (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group added that the plan was for the sides to sign the extension today, though the October 31st deadline that applies for rookie-scale extensions didn’t matter with Varejao. The 32-year-old becomes just the fifth player to sign a veteran extension under the current collective bargaining agreement, joining Andrew Bogut, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker and Zach Randolph.

“Anderson represents how this franchise wants to approach the game of basketball, both on the court and off,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the team’s statement. “He has been a key part of our foundation for years and we are very happy that he will continue to be part of our Cavs family as we work towards our goals at the highest level. Andy is, and has been, a tireless worker, an incredible teammate and a great competitor that plays with a rare combination of energy and intensity that makes him truly special.”

This news doesn’t come as a surprise since it was reported earlier that both sides had a mutual interest in keeping Varejao in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. The Brazilian-born center said recently that he wants to finish his career with the Cavs, and he has a close relationship with LeBron James, with whom he’d been teammates for six years before James took his talents to South Beach.

Varejao nonetheless had some incentive to wait until he became a free agent to sign a new deal with the Cavs. The starting salary in a veteran extension can be no more than 107.5% of the salary in the final season of the existing deal, and in Varejao’s case the extension could only have run through the 2017/18 season. If Varejao were to have waited to become a free agent, he could sign up to a five-year contract for nearly 35% of the salary cap, though he wasn’t a candidate for max money, nor a deal of that length. With his history of injuries and advancing age, signing an extension to stay in Cleveland and gaining some level of financial security was clearly appealing for Varejao, and it comes with the benefit of allowing him to continue to play for a team that’s shaping up to be an annual title contender.

This news also casts some doubt as to the future of Tristan Thompson in wine-and-gold. A report earlier today indicated that there was pessimism surrounding Cleveland’s extension talks with Thompson, who is subject to today’s 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie scale extensions. Thompson is seeking a new deal in the $12MM per year range, which is a bit pricey for a backup center.

The Cavs had only about $21.5MM in commitments for 2015/16 before signing the Varejao deal, but that doesn’t include James’ player option for $21,573,398 or Kevin Love‘s for $16,744,218. Varejao’s extension doesn’t leave the Cavs front office much flexibility to ink Thompson and continue to surround the core of James, Love, and Kyrie Irving with the role players needed to contend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.