Jeff Van Gundy: Tristan Thompsan is getting the max

[LooseCannon]

I them letting Love go and using him.  If they are smart they would do a sign and trade to get something out of him.

It would be a very bad idea to try to replace Love with Thompson.  We saw last night how hard it is for the Cavs to penetrate when the Bulls pack the paint.

For sure, but can you pay Love and Thompsan over $30 million and not start the two?

Well, I personally can't, but Dan Gilbert can.  If Golden State can pay Lee and Iguodala $27 million to not start, why can't Cleveland pay a ton of money?

If Gilbert doesn't care about the luxury tax, then Thompson is probably better than any player they can sign as a replacement.  The real question is if Cleveland would be bidding against themselves if they gave Thompson the max.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I think I'd dry-heave if the Celtics offered TT the max. Jimmy Butler... where art though?! I'd literally mail in 2/3 of my paychecks each month, between now and the time he resigns with Chicago, to just know he's speaking with someone wearing the color Green.

[krumeto]

At least watching him abuse Bulls bigs on the offensive boards makes me a little less angry at ours. The guy is really that good at offensive rebounding.

[Atzar]

He's a guy who benefits greatly by having superstar players on his team.

LeBron and Kyrie draw the shotblocker out of the paint consistently.  When that happens, Thompson runs right to the rim, where he abuses opposing guards and forwards on the glass.  It's no more complicated than that.

He's very good at what he's asked to do.  Very solid player on a team that just needs him to rebound and play a little D.  I don't think you'd like the results if he was asked to do more, though. 

[Evantime34]

A lot of players are going to get max contracts that will drive this board into a tizzy. With the cap set to jump and the max for a  player with 0-6 years of service being a much smaller percent I expect a lot of non traditional max free agents to get the max.

[Moranis]

He's a guy who benefits greatly by having superstar players on his team.

LeBron and Kyrie draw the shotblocker out of the paint consistently.  When that happens, Thompson runs right to the rim, where he abuses opposing guards and forwards on the glass.  It's no more complicated than that.

He's very good at what he's asked to do.  Very solid player on a team that just needs him to rebound and play a little D.  I don't think you'd like the results if he was asked to do more, though.

His FG% is up a good deal this year (while his shots are down a great deal), but the rest of his numbers on a per minute basis are about the same.  He has been doing this for 3 years, he just gets the notoriety now because the team is a lot better.

[tazzmaniac]

I them letting Love go and using him.  If they are smart they would do a sign and trade to get something out of him.

It would be a very bad idea to try to replace Love with Thompson.  We saw last night how hard it is for the Cavs to penetrate when the Bulls pack the paint.

For sure, but can you pay Love and Thompsan over $30 million and not start the two?

Well, I personally can't, but Dan Gilbert can.  If Golden State can pay Lee and Iguodala $27 million to not start, why can't Cleveland pay a ton of money?

If Gilbert doesn't care about the luxury tax, then Thompson is probably better than any player they can sign as a replacement.  The real question is if Cleveland would be bidding against themselves if they gave Thompson the max.

I believe Lee and Iguodala were starters when they got those contracts.  I'm sure Golden State would Love to get rid of Lee this off season but I'm not sure who would take him.  They don't have a good enough pick to offer for a team like Philly to take him. 

[chambers]

Not true.
He's not that good nor does he show the potential to be that good. So he's a great offensive rebounder. What else is he good at?

Only way he gets max is if Lebron makes them do it.