The Cleveland Cavaliers Have The Answers To Fill The Void Left By Tristan Thompson’s Exit

With training camp officially underway for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it finally marks the beginning of the 2020-21 NBA season. But, it also marks the end of an era as well. In the days leading up to camp former Cavalier Tristan Thompson, an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a two-year, $19 million contract to join the Boston Celtics. Thompson, who was selected fourth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by Cleveland, was the longest-tenured player on the Cavaliers’ roster. He was the team’s heart and soul. Thompson understood and embraced what it meant to be a Clevelander and he will be missed. Not just by fans, but by his teammates as well. So, heading into training camp this winter, there is now an obvious void left by Thompson – both figuratively and literally.

Thankfully, the Cavaliers do have a stable of big men who can match Thompson’s production on the court. In terms of rebounding, Cleveland is set with Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr. and JaVale McGee – who all averaged 38.9 boards per game combined last season. Defensively, Nance, the team’s best defensive player, Drummond, the team’s best rim protector, and McGee, the team’s second-best rim protector, can compensate for the loss of Thompson as well. On offense, Thompson averaged a career-best 12.0 points per game last season. But, if you combine last season’s scoring average Drummond, Love, Nance and McGee it totals out to 52.0 points per game which is more than enough production.

But, the problem with Thompson shipping off to Boston isn’t just his on-court production – his value off the court was just as impactful for the Cavaliers. As mentioned above, Thompson was the heart, soul and even the catalyst for Cleveland’s growth and development. According to sources, when LeBron James returned to Cleveland after a brief stint with the Miami Heat, he took a young Thompson under his wing. James taught Thompson how to treat his body right. How to maximize every practice and workout. He also taught Thompson how to lead both vocally and by example.

In turn, Thompson did the same thing with the newly-formed nucleus of Cleveland’s young core. But, the Cavaliers are only entering year three of their rebuild and that young core still will need to lean on Thompson at times for guidance. With him now gone, there is some obvious concern that the growth and development of Cleveland’s future will be stunted. Thankfully, the Cavaliers have an answer for that as well in the players that will be filling the on-court void left by Thompson and it all starts with one major buzzword at training camp: accountability.

“Accountability comes from all around,” said Drummond. “Being here on time. Giving your best and all each and every day when you’re in the weight room. Giving your best and all when you’re on the court. Being able to take criticism without being offended. Being able to critique yourself. Being able to take advice. Being able to do things without being told and when you are told being able to get it done at a high rate and giving it your best.”

“I have to be accountable to J.B. and J.B. has to be accountable to us,” said Nance. K-Love has to be accountable to Drummond. Darius has to be accountable to JaVale. No one’s above that. Every single person has to be on the same page in terms of that.”

“Larry has already taken a big step in that direction,” said Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “He’s done a great job throughout this whole process of making sure the team stays together and any opportunities we’ve had to safely get the group together, he’s taken the leadership role in getting the group together.

“My expectations for him and Andre are similar. They have been around long enough to know right from wrong. My responsibility has been to hold them accountable, so the young guys can see them and carry that on. We are trying to build something here. Only being able to coach for 11 games last year, we weren’t able to establish it completely and we’re still in the process of building.

“We need our leaders, we need our veterans to carry the torch of what’s right. That’s our expectation of them and we will hold them accountable to that.”

Usually, this just feels like typical preseason hyperbole for any team. You’d be hard-pressed to find any team in the NBA being openly down on their prospects heading into the 2020-21 season. But, with Cleveland, there is a lot of validity to their optimism heading into next year. For the longest time, the Cavaliers have been striving to be a team with a healthy and sustainable culture. According to sources, the team they’re most trying to emulate is the Miami Heat. With stability at general manager with Koby Altman, at head coach under Bickerstaff and so many key figures on the roster willing to step up, Cleveland is finally building something sustainable culturally.

That’s all well and good for now but what about the future, though? Out of the quartet of Drummond, Love, Nance and McGee, Nance is the only player that will likely be here within the next few seasons. Drummond ($28.7 million) and McGee ($4.2 million) are on the last years of their contracts and either of them could be moved via trade or simply exit in free agency. Love, meanwhile, is likely going to become the hottest trade commodity once Giannis Antetokounmpo signs a supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. According to league sources, that seems like it’s going to happen in the coming days for Milwaukee so Love may not be long for Cleveland either.

That’s where Collin Sexton steps up to the plate for the Cavaliers. Sexton, who, according to sources, Cleveland views as a cultural leader, has become a major presence in the team’s locker room. It took time, but, Sexton has more than earned the respect of his teammates through his work ethic alone. Entering his third season, Sexton is beginning to view himself as a leader for this up and coming Cavaliers squad.

“Since corona happened I’ve been pretty much reaching out to the guys and becoming that leader,” said Sexton. “In the gym, I’m always going to lead by example. Whether it’s working after or getting in there early or getting there on time, I’ll always lead by example. But, becoming a vocal leader is definitely something I need to improve on and I feel like that’s my role for this year.”

The NBA is a business, and players come and go with Thompson being another example of this. Thompson will go down as one of the all-time Cavaliers legends and his impact both on and off the court will never be forgotten. But, the Cavaliers are still in a good place even after Thompson’s exit thanks to all the big men the former Cavalier went to war with every night. There’s also Sexton, one of Thompson’s understudies, to carry on his legacy as well.