The Cleveland Cavaliers are running on a high, cloud 9 isn’t high enough. Not only are they 3-0 up on the Atlanta Hawks but they’re doing it without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, impressive is definitely a word for what the Cavs are doing right now.
We can all say that LeBron is the mastermind, being the leader that is truly rallying the troops to put up numbers that they never dreamed of racking up, but we can’t give LeBron all the credit. Players like JR Smith and Tristan Thompson are putting the work in because they want to succeed. Speaking of Thompson, LeBron has been praising the big man, saying that Thompson should be a Cavalier forever.
“Tristan should probably be a Cavalier for his whole career,” James said on Monday after practice. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t. This guy is 24 years old. He’s played in 340?plus straight games, and he’s gotten better every single season. It’s almost like, ‘What more can you ask out of a guy?’”
“I appreciate the compliment, if that’s a compliment, from LeBron,” Thompson said. “But I’m just here to work. Just coming to work, do what the team asks from me, whether it’s on the court, off the court, in the community, and just be a professional.” […] The NBA’s new $24 billion television deal could radically increase the salary cap from about $67 million next season to approximately $90 million for the 2016-17 season. The Cavaliers will be forced to fork out more than their October offer to retain Thompson.
That’s a very good retort to LeBron’s comment. He knows he isn’t a franchise player (yet) and because of that fact, he can’t act like he has a permanent position in the Cleveland organization. In this day and age where the salary cap will fluctuate in epic proportions, Thompson will have to stay business minded and get what’s coming to him.
