Should the Cavs sign Tristan Thompson over Kevin Love?

With the Cavaliers cruising past the Chicago Bulls and then the Atlanta Hawks without Kevin Love, should they sign Tristan Thompson over him?

When Kevin Love had his shoulder yanked out of place in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, it became clear that he wouldn’t be returning this season. It seemed the hopes for Cavs fans to finally get that championship fell out of place along with Love’s shoulder.

That was until Tristan Thompson emerged on the scene.

With Love out, one man has done the dirty work on the glass and been a major reason the Cavaliers have made it to the NBA finals. Tristan Thompson has proven that he deserves to get paid in the off season as he becomes a free agent. Which makes for a very interesting situation when the playoffs are all said and done seeing as Kevin Love also would need a new deal as he becomes a free agent too.

The obvious choice would be to re-sign Love. He is a far superior offensive player and I would go even as far to say that he flows better with the Cavs offense than just about any power forward out there. The only thing is, is that what the Cavs need?

Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and JR Smith have accounted for 59% of the Cavs scoring this post season, with other players like Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson sprinkling in 10.1 and 9.4 points per game, respectively. It seems that the Cavs are just fine in the scoring category – even without Love playing. Where they struggle is getting critical stops and getting second chance buckets. This just happens to be where Tristan Thompson exceeds the most.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

I’m not saying Kevin Love is a bad defender or can’t get offensive rebounds, I’m just saying Tristan Thompson does it better. And since he has been full time in the playoffs, he has averaged 4.0 offensive rebounds per game. Those possessions are huge for the Cavs, especially against a team like the Bulls where two critical games came down to last second shots.

Tristan Thompson has proved in the post season that he can be the power forward the Cavs need. Besides that, he will be a much cheaper deal than Love, who could argue for a max deal if the Cavs will pay it. But why should they when they can pay Thompson half that amount and then that would mean they would have room to sign other pieces to their roster.

I’m sure LeBron wouldn’t hate it if the Cavs added a back up or two to fill in for him so he’s knees are still intact by the time he hits 35. Signing Thompson over Love would allow the Cavs a little wiggle room as far as cap space goes, another added bonus to leaving Love an option to go elsewhere.

Remember, the Golden State Warriors had an opportunity to trade for Kevin Love last summer. They chose not to, and in turn found Draymond Green producing like a man man for half the price. Even though the Cavs went ahead and traded for Love, they still found their Draymond Green in Tristan Thompson.

It isn’t about who is better, it is more so about who makes the most sense for their roster. Tristan Thompson fits the team better, flows with the starts more fluidly, and is as clutch of a rebounder as you can find. Even if he isn’t the offensive threat that Love is, it’s not everyday you find someone who fits so perfectly into a roster, even though they might not be the most talented basketball player in the world. The 96′ Bulls had Dennis Rodman, the 2002 Lakers had Robert Horry, and now the Cleveland Cavaliers have Tristan Thompson.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers