The Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster for the 2024-25 season is close to being finalized and it’ll look very similar to the same squad they have last year.

Reports indicated on Friday morning that the Wine and Gold are bringing back veteran big man Tristan Thompson on a one-year deal. Thompson played a vital role on the 2016 NBA Finals team and was a critical veteran presence in the Cavs’ locker room last season.

Thompson’s responsibility last year was limited to being a backup option off the bench in the event of an injury or another one of Cleveland’s big men found themselves in foul trouble. In the 49 games TT played in, he averaged 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 60.8 percent from the floor. Of those 49 games, Thompson started in three of them.

This will likely be the same role Thompson has on the team this upcoming season.

He’s well past the prime of his career but has proven on multiple occasions that he can provide a boost in a limited capacity when called upon. For example, Thompson had a vintage performance against the Orlando Magic last year on December 11, grabbing 13 rebounds and scoring 10 points. (It does have to be noted that Thompson was suspended 25 games last season for PEDs)

At the end of the day, there just isn’t room in Cleveland’s rotation for Thompson to have an every-game role.

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley will get the majority of the playing time in the frontcourt in Kenny Atkinson’s offense. When the team does want to run a different look, they can slide Dean Wade up to power forward to help with floor spacing.

Thompson is a solid option off the bench. He’s a familiar face for the team, provides plenty of playoff experience, and knows how to impact the game even if he’s not playing.