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He always worked hard, he was always good in the locker room, and he brought with him a certain toughness that every team needs. He was an important piece during LBJ's second run.

The flaws in his game have been discussed so I won't belabor the point here. His contract was ridiculous and it's probably going to take me awhile to get over the fact he asked for a max deal on top off it last year.

I wish him the best of luck on the Celtics when he's not playing the Cavs.

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Loved the work ethic and reliability , also was highly impressed with switching shooting hands at the charity stripe. he was overpaid for what he was asked to do for the most part and there were definitley stretches where he wasnt worth close to those amounts esp in the seasons when they were not fighting for anything besides lottery balls.
Overall he had a great run here and will be missed for sure.

I was a big TT fan, but there were some wasted seasons that I won't soon forget as he seemed more interested in creating "reality TV".

Saw he became a US citizen the other day. Congrats to him, it's a lengthy process even if you have an F ton of money.

Congrats on everything he helped the Cavs accomplish. My only gripe is that every year, for the last 6 years I was waiting for him to develop a more consistent offense and breakout

Somehow I always ended up thinking he was just as raw on the offensive end when he stepped foot in the league as he is now. Is it possible for a 9 year veteran to be a raw talent still?

I certainly miss the dirty work but I think having 5 skilled players on the floor will open up opportunities instead of 4 and a clean up guy

LivingLegend wrote:Congrats on everything he helped the Cavs accomplish. My only gripe is that every year, for the last 6 years I was waiting for him to develop a more consistent offense and breakout

Somehow I always ended up thinking he was just as raw on the offensive end when he stepped foot in the league as he is now. Is it possible for a 9 year veteran to be a raw talent still?

I certainly miss the dirty work but I think having 5 skilled players on the floor will open up opportunities instead of 4 and a clean up guy

Oh, I think he improved - became a better finisher... even flashed a 3pter this season; but I think NBA coaches really enjoy having players like Tristan they don't have to worry about drawing up plays for (perhaps to a fault).

Heck, Tristan even led the league in offensive rating one season, and the Cavs multiple times which while that's not strictly an individual statistic, it speaks to the value of what Tristan was bringing on the offensive boards.

His peers like Andre Drummond, Enes Kanter, and Jonas Valunciunas have shown more upside and played more flashy, but Tristan has always held his own against them as well as frustrating other supposedly more versatile players like Al Horford.

There is something to be said for a player who knows what he's good at and is willing to stick to it (when not distracted by his crazy girlfriend).

Imagine if Andre had that same focus (and a more reasonable salary) - he'd be extremely valuable. Instead he's still trying to become that superstar everyone told him he should be so he can earn that big pay day, rather than refining his game and focusing on the things that win games.