Thompson averaged 7.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game on 27.7 minutes. In the regular season, Thompson was the only Cavalier to play all 82 games, although he spent a significant portion of the season coming off the bench as the Cavaliers tried to make Timofey Mozgov work as a starting center. In an offseason that had sent a max contract to Enes Kanter, $30 million for Al-Farouq Aminu, and $80 million for Reggie Jackson, it set up a season where Thompson had to answer one question: Is he really worth $82 million?ġ03 games and one NBA Championship later, the answer appears to be yes. On October 22, five days before the season opener, Thompson and the Cavaliers agreed to terms on a five year, $82 million dollar contract. Thompson seemed to have show his limits, a rebounder and not much else, which left questions as to how he could fit in an evolving game. But the question for a player seeking to be one of the higher paid role players in the league remained, what else can you do? The Golden State Warriors defeated Thompson and the Cavaliers in the Finals behind the rebounding, defense, and floor spacing of Draymond Green at center. His value as an iron man was assisted by dominant performance on the offensive glass in the Finals (32 ORBs, the ninth highest in the history of the Finals). Through four seasons in the NBA, Thompson had played in every Cavaliers game since February 8, 2012.
Initial reports showed a wide gap in estimated value between Thompson and the Cleveland front office (five years, $94 million versus five years, $80 million). Thomspon and his agent, Rich Paul, had let the restricted free agent's qualifying offer expire and looked prepared to sit out the start of the season. Except he was missing one piece of the starting five in Thompson. With less than a week remaining before the 2015-16 regular season, General Manager David Griffin had worked to bring back almost every player of the Cavaliers 2015 Eastern Conference Champion roster, a bill that looked to surpass $100 million. At the start of the 2015-16 season, Tristan Thompson's status as the Cavaliers' "iron man" was called into question.
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