Tristan Thompson was a fixture for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their frontcourt for many years, especially during LeBron James’ second stint with them. Yet Mario Chalmers, another former teammate of James, apparently has a problem with him.
“I don’t like Tristan Thompson,” said Chalmers. “And I don’t like Tristan ’cause of what he said about me. … When he went on Draymond’s (Draymond Green) podcast about Rio’s probably trying to call up Bron, trying to get a job. … Where did all that come from? He went on Draymond’s show right after whenever all that went viral.
“You go on Draymond’s podcast and see, and I was just like, ‘Hey bro, you was the same person that see me in the G League like, Rio, welcome back, I love you.’ Now you going back and saying that I’m bashing my teammate. ‘I hate when people be on sucka s—.’
“Bro, I didn’t say nothing about him. I said how people viewed him. So now that you got a beef with me, now you sayin’ all this stuff about me, oh okay cool. I didn’t start this. I didn’t say nothing about you.”
This all started months ago when Chalmers said that James isn’t feared the way Michael Jordan was. Thompson criticized Chalmers for that comment and said that the Heat’s version of James was the scariest iteration of him while pointing out that at one point, Chalmers was probably texting James in order to “get a job.”
Chalmers, a 6-foot-2 guard, played his first seven seasons and change with Miami, four of them with James. In those four seasons, Miami went to the NBA Finals each year and won back-to-back championships as Chalmers became a consistent starter for head coach Erik Spoelstra.
He suffered an Achilles injury in March 2016, but prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, the Cavs were considering acquiring him. Instead of reuniting with James, he remained with the Memphis Grizzlies, who had traded for him early in the 2015-16 campaign.
Thompson played his first nine seasons with the Cavs, and it was a stretch that saw the team be an Eastern Conference doormat, then become world champions during the 2015-16 campaign and then go back into rebuilding mode once James left in 2018. After leaving in 2020, Thompson spent time with five other teams, which included a brief reunion with James last spring on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thompson is back with Cleveland this season, and the veteran 6-foot-9 big man has provided it with some muscle, rebounding and defense, not to mention experience. After finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference last season, the team is looking to take the next step and win its first playoff series since James’ second stint there.
