CLEVELAND — NBA fans can expect to see Tristan Thompson with a job in a front office or a major media company when he retires from playing basketball.
Until then, the Cavaliers are thankful to have Thompson not only as an invaluable locker-room presence who provides connective tissue to their 2016 championship team , but also as a productive backup center.
If the 32-year-old Thompson has raised your eyebrows a bit with his performance this season, no one is going to file a lawsuit for failure to forecast a pleasant surprise.
But Thompson and coach J.B. Bickerstaff recently insisted they haven't been caught off guard by what's left in the veteran player's proverbial tank. The organization's decision to re-sign Thompson to a one-year contract in September has paid off thus far.
"I'm not surprised at all," Thompson told the Beacon Journal last week. "I've always known my capabilities, what I'm able to do, what I can bring to a ballclub. J.B.'s known me for a long time. He knows the type of player I am, and I always believe if you play harder than everyone else in this league and you're in shape, especially at the center position, you'll be able to change the game."
Thompson has done his part to help the Cavs assemble a record of 8-3 since they announced on Dec. 15 they would be without starting point guard Darius Garland (jaw surgery) for at least a month and starting forward Evan Mobley (knee surgery) for approximately six to eight weeks. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell missed four games during the same period due to an illness, yet the Cavs went 3-1 without Garland, Mobley and Mitchell.
Now the Cavs (21-15) hope to extend their winning streak to four games when they meet the Brooklyn Nets (16-21) on Thursday at Accor Arena in Paris.
"The team has a lot of potential because we have a little bit of everything that you need to be successful," Thompson said. "I think, for us, it's just about being healthy and connecting on all cylinders. So, of course, we don't want to rush no guys back, but whenever our team does get back I think it'll be important for us to figure out a way to make sure we're all jelling and we're all kind of in flow and in sync, so when we get to the playoffs we'll be ready to go."
During the stretch without Garland and Mobley, Thompson has averaged 5.4 points on 64.3% shooting from the field, five rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15.5 minutes off the bench. Through the first 31 games in which he has appeared this season, Thompson's averages are 3.7 points on 68% shooting from the floor, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.9 minutes.
"Tristan's great," Cavs backup guard Sam Merrill said. "I mean, he's always got something to say. He's always leaning on his experience, trying to keep us going through the good and the bad. I've been really grateful for what he's been able to bring, and, you know, he's not that old for an NBA player. He's only 32. When we signed him, I thought he might be 35, 36, but he's still got plenty left, not only off the floor, but he's been really helpful for us on the floor."
Bickerstaff explained he covets Thompson's ability to "quarterback a defense" by guarding multiple positions and communicating. Thompson said he takes pride in helping his teammates comprehend the intricacies of Bickerstaff's system and using his voice on the court.
"The physical piece — he has great feet and great strength. The mental aspect — he has extreme will where he can take and sustain challenges unlike many people," Bickerstaff said. "And then he is a student of the game. Every [opponent who] steps on that floor, Tristan has an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and knows how to put them in a position of weakness."
Thompson's command of the defense is just one aspect of his leadership. His experience with deep postseason runs is considered another asset for a franchise seeking playoff success coming off a 4-1 first-round series defeat to the New York Knicks in April.
The Cavs had lost the last remaining bridge to their 2016 title team when they agreed to a contract buyout with Kevin Love last February.
Then they regained the connection by reuniting with Thompson, the fourth overall pick by the Cavs in 2011 who spent his first nine NBA seasons with Cleveland and averaged 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds in the 2016 NBA Finals. Thompson and Bickerstaff's Cavs tenures previously overlapped in the 2019-20 season, when the former averaged a career-best 12 points to go along with 10.1 rebounds.
"It's always important to have a veteran that's been to the Finals and won on your team, especially if you're trying to build something long-lasting, especially like what [Cavs president of basketball operations] Koby [Altman] is trying to do," Thompson said. " … For us to get to a place where we're trying to get to, I think it's important to have guys in the locker room that have worn this jersey, that's been in those [intense playoff] situations.
"Breaking a 52-year curse, it means a lot. I know how many people here in Northeast Ohio were waiting for that moment. So when we won that title, I was thinking of everyone from Northeast Ohio that's been waiting, yearning for that moment to say their city's a champion. So it was bigger than just basketball."
The significance of Thompson's return to Cleveland certainly isn't lost on LeBron James. Thompson worked as an ESPN analyst last season before making a comeback with James and the Los Angeles Lakers just in time for the playoffs. He appeared in six postseason games before the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets .
"I thought it was awesome," James said in November of Thompson rejoining the Cavs. "I was proud of him. Obviously, he spent the later stages of the season last year with us making a Western Conference Finals run, and I think I just see him as a veteran for those young bigs, for those guys that's trying to make a leap into the next part of this team.
"They've had some success. I think the next step is having playoff success. I think Double T has been there. He's seen it all, and there's nothing that this league can show that he hasn't seen. So I think they can lean on him."
Mitchell said Thompson has brought "energy" to the Cavs. On several occasions this season, Thompson has fired up his teammates with an offensive rebound, a blocked shot or another type of hustle play.
"I think it's contagious being a spark plug for the team, especially the second unit," Thompson said. "Getting guys going, I think that's important. It's a long season and games go up and down, so if you can bring that energy to get guys going, like I said, it's contagious."
Mitchell explained Thompson is a vocal leader who isn't shy about bringing his effort and brand of toughness to the Cavs. Bickerstaff said he trusts Thompson to send the right messages in appropriate moments and hold teammates accountable.
The guidance has become more evident with injury-related adversity hitting.
"You've got to keep the boat afloat," Thompson said. "You can't let it get too high, too low. I think we've got to be more together now more than ever, especially with us not having the luxury of having Evan and DG on the team.
"With us knowing that we were missing two guys like that, we've been moving the ball, sharing the ball, just playing more together. I think it's helped our team a lot because it's gotten guys opportunities like Sam [Merrill] to get his rhythm going, and he's been a big part of our second unit."
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Thompson has delivered, too.
"He's brought an extra spark of energy, an extra spark of confidence in us," Cavs starting center Jarrett Allen said. "He's always the guy to hype us up. He's always the guy to say that we got this, and you see every night he's going out there giving it his 100%, he's getting rebounds. On the bench, sometimes you don't see him, but he's trying to make sure we're in the right [defensive] coverage. He does a lot more that doesn't show up in the box score."
In other words, the Cavs are happy to have Thompson back.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson has successful Cleveland reunion
