Phoenix Suns: Tristan Thompson Isn’t Happening
For most Phoenix Suns fans, this might be something of a Captain Obvious alert. But with Suns Twitter bordering on hysteria that general manager Ryan McDonough trade Markieff Morris as soon as possible, it’s worth covering: Don’t count on Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers being that trade partner.
Over in Cleveland, general manager LeBron James David Griffin has had a pretty successful offseason. LeBron James, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova are all returning, and the Cavs managed to upgrade their backup point guard position with Mo Williams as well.
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The last remaining piece of the puzzle is restricted free agent Tristan Thompson, who is currently holding out for a bigger extension than the Cavs have been willing to offer. Suns fans are all too familiar with this situation after Eric Bledsoe — another client of agent Rich Paul — held out last summer as a restricted free agent and earned a five-year, $70 million extension.
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Thompson, on the other hand, is asking for even more money, reportedly holding out for something in the five-year, $94 million range. According to those reports, Thompson differs from Bledsoe’s situation in that Paul had told the Cavs his client wouldn’t play in Cleveland next season on his $6.8 million qualifying offer.
That kind of threat could’ve just been Paul’s attempt to gain leverage for his client, but according to the latest report from Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, Thompson won’t re-sign a long-term deal for less than the max and is prepared to sign that one-year qualifying offer because Paul believes his client — a native Canadian — can get a max offer from the Toronto Raptors next summer.
Even if the Raptors tidbit is yet another negotiating tactic, all of this information should have every rational Suns fan and executive running in the opposite direction.
It’s not that Tristan Thompson is a bad player; we saw in the postseason that he’s an exquisite offensive rebounder, he’s a big body in the paint and he’s still only 24 years old. But even if Thompson is a starting-caliber power forward in this league, the fact that the Cavaliers’ backup 4 is asking for $94 million over five years is ludicrous.
In fact, the five-year, $80 million offer he reportedly turned down would have been ludicrous. Thompson may be a versatile defender and and decent finisher around the basket, but he’s not a rim protector and he can’t spread the floor with a serviceable midrange shot. How on earth does a player with such obvious limitations feel entitled to max money?
Opponents shot 52.2% against Tristan Thompson at the rim during the RS. 52nd among 67 qualified players. 52.3% in the playoffs.
— mhonkasalo (@mhonkasalo) August 21, 2015
From the Suns’ perspective, a sign-and-trade for Thompson might be better than anything else Phoenix could get in a potential Markieff Morris trade at this point — but only from a talent perspective. If the Suns were to deal Keef, they’d need to get a starting-caliber 4 in return. Otherwise they’d be looking at starting Mirza Teletovic with Jon Leuer backing him up.
But talent isn’t the only factor here, even if a disgruntled Morris could wind up being a terrible influence. While Keef still has four years and $32 million left on his contract — a major steal considering his offensive skill set and the rising NBA salary cap — Thompson wants to be paid nearly $19 million a season for a skill set that wouldn’t fit in nearly as well in Phoenix.
Even with the NBA’s salary cap skyrocketing by about $40 million over the next two summers, $19 million is far too much to pay for Tristan Thompson — even for the Cavs, who need him back since they wouldn’t have the cap space to replace him.
LeBron James calls re-signing Tristan Thompson the Cavaliers No. 1 objective: http://t.co/dbxojt2GVi pic.twitter.com/TB1iQQVpMc
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) August 15, 2015
Sure, Thompson would help the Suns on the glass and yes, Phoenix would be an elite defense pairing Thompson and Tyson Chandler together down low. But the Suns don’t have to trade Morris; they hold all the leverage right now in Keef’s standoff. If he doesn’t report to camp or starts acting up, it’s within Phoenix’s power to suspend him without pay until he adjusts his attitude.
With Keef’s value so low, there’s no guarantee the Cavs would even be interested in this kind of ill-advised Tristan Thompson sign-and-trade anyway. They’d definitely prefer his salary since Cleveland is deep in luxury tax territory, but Morris spent the last year building up a bad reputation as a head case both on and off the court.
Tristan Thompson would probably be the best player the Suns could acquire in a Markieff Morris trade at this point, but paying out max money for a player like that is not something McDonough would even consider doing. At this point, the Suns would be far better off waiting it out with Keef rather than drastically overpaying for a limited player like Thompson.
Next: Drawing Up Potential Markieff Morris Trades