ESPN: Reported Friday that the veteran big man Thompson is finalizing a deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tristan Thompson lands new NBA contract

Tristan Thompson is still at it some 13 years after his NBA career began.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Friday that the veteran big man Thompson is finalizing a deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thompson will be getting a new one-year contract from the Cavs, Wojnarowski adds.

The now 33-year-old Thompson was a lottery pick by the Cavaliers in 2011 (No. 4 overall) and developed into a dependable role player for the team. Known for his energy and rebounding prowess, Thompson started on all four of Cleveland’s NBA Finals teams during the 2010s (including in 2016 when it won it all).

Of course, Thompson has not been a very useful NBA player for years now. He already returned for his second stint on the Cavaliers last season, being relegated to mop-up duty (1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game) and also serving a lengthy suspension for a violation of the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

But Thompson remains a respected and well-liked veteran who knows the ins and outs of the organization. For a Cavaliers team that has steadied the ship in a lot of different ways this NBA offseason, Thompson is worth the continued roster spot, regardless of the actual minutes that he receives.

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Dwyane Wade says being in a Cavs jersey was ‘nasty’: ‘I didn’t even want No. 3 in that jersey’

While he’s best known for his days playing for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade suited up for the Cleveland Cavaliers for a brief period, and he doesn’t think he looked quite right in a Cavaliers jersey.

“Cleveland was a whole different beast, bro,” Wade said when looking back on his time with the Cavaliers. “It was a lot going on before I got there. Obviously, coming there as Bron’s (LeBron James) guy, I got thrown into the s—. Oo, it’s nasty — it definitely one of the most nastiest jerseys. But you see, I didn’t even want No. 3 in that jersey ’cause I was like, ‘Nah — this ain’t a good look.’”

Wade didn’t even spend one full season as a member of the Cavaliers. He appeared in 46 games with the team during the 2017-18 regular season and was a bench player.

He started only three of the games he played in with Cleveland and averaged 11.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per contest.

Wade also shot 45.5 percent from the field, 32.9 percent from 3-point range and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe.

The 2017-18 iteration of the Cavaliers went on to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2018 NBA Finals, but Wade was no longer a member of the team by the time the playoffs rolled around. In February of 2018, Cleveland dealt James’ longtime friend back to the Heat — where his NBA career started — and received a protected second-round draft pick in return.

Wade retired from the NBA not all that long after he returned to the Heat. He spent the remainder of the 2017-18 regular season and entirety of the 2018-19 campaign with the Heat before he decided to call it quits on his NBA career.

The 42-year-old teamed up with James in the NBA far before the two joined forced on the Cavaliers, however. Wade and James were teammates on the Heat for four seasons, and in that span, Miami reached four consecutive NBA Finals and won a pair of championships in the years 2012 and 2013.

Wade was far removed from the halcyon days of his NBA career by the time he played for the Cavaliers, as he was years removed from his most recent All-Star appearance. However, he was a productive reserve player for the Cavaliers nonetheless during his cup of coffee with the team, and it’s unfortunate that he was not able to compete with the squad in the 2018 NBA Playoffs during its run to the NBA Finals.