A Must Read From The Ringer

[Scott41theMavs]

Tristan Thompson seems like a player who should be able to fill out the roll man-role while providing an upgrade inside.

'15-'16: 91st percentile as a PnR rollman
'16-'17: 79th percentile as a PnR rollman
17-'18: 81st percentile as a PnR rollman

Then LeBron left CLE and his numbers took a hit:

- '18-'19: 61st percentile as a PnR rollman
- '19-'20: 35th percentile as a PnR rollman

==> Imo his dip here in PnR-plays is explainable and I'd expect him to bounce back to his older numbers quickly once he plays with a better PG than the kids CLE has at that position.

On the boards Thompson has a higher TRB% and his On-Off-numbers on the boards are also a big plus in comparison to Powell.

I think he is the big man-target who makes the most sense a) stylistically and b) should be within our reach asset-wise without depleting our rotation too much. CLE has a high payroll for a lottery squad and he will be an UFA next summer. Seems like an ideal fit as a trade target for the Lee-contract. Maybe throw in a 2nd round pick and another minimum-guy to make the numbers work (Broekhoff would be enough) and you should be there already.

PF: Porzingis | Kleber
C: Thompson | Powell

would be a heck of a frontcourt with two good rim runners as well as two floor spacers.

I'm in, unless a slam-dunk move (i.e. Favors or a perimeter almost-star) is available.

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Can THJ and KP pick it up when Luka has a bad night? So far, they haven't been able to do so.

That's why we need to add pieces before we can become contenders. Perhaps only one piece would be enough.

The perfect piece, if you're only adding one, would be a person who plays good perimeter D and can also create for themselves, and put up 25 points if needed, when Luka is having a bad game. Oh, and is unselfish enough to defer to Luka when he's on, which is most of the time.

Not sure that guy exists, tbh.

Jrue Holiday, Victor Oladipo... or Malcolm Brogdon.

Holiday, to me, is the grand pipe-dream. Only thing I don't like about it is that it almost certainly costs Wright (who is, when all is said and done, our best tradeable asset). Wright is like a Jrue starter kit but younger.