According to a report, Cleveland Cavaliers have signed veteran forward Tristan Thompson to a one-year deal. Thompson, who is already 33 has spent the majority of his career with Cleveland. The upcoming season will be his 11th with the team.
Tristan was a key member of the 2016 team that won the first championship in the franchise’s history. After that, he has largely remained aside from the one-season stints with the Celtics, Kings, Bulls, and Pacers.
His best days in the league have come with the Cavaliers. The fourth overall pick in the NBA draft in 2011, Tristan became a reliable forward for Cleveland through the team’s championship years. In the last 10 seasons with the Cavaliers, he averaged nine points and 8.3 rebounds.
ESPN reported that he was signed by the Cavaliers as a free agent. However, the monetary value of the deal is not known.
Now, he is not as important to the Cavaliers as he was in his formidable run during the championship run of the team. But his experience and veteran leadership will be important on a team that is hoping to make a postseason run.
He appeared in 49 games for the Cavaliers last season and also received a 25-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. He also played some spot minutes in their team’s playoff appearance.
The team is hoping to make a deeper run in the playoffs this season after failing to the Celtics in the second round last May.
The Cleveland team has largely the same roster as the last year and hopes that some continuity will help improve the team.
The team also parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff at the end of last season and brought in Kenny Atkinson to become the head coach of the team.
