Thompson's 2017-18 campaign was arguably the worst of his career. To begin with, injuries seemed to pile up for the veteran, as a left calf strain and a right ankle sprain limited him to just 53 total games. Thompson had previously missed four or less games in each of the prior five seasons, so that appeared to be more of an aberration than anything. Still, the Cavaliers pivoted to smaller, more athletic players at center for much of the year anyway, which resulted in a significant dip in Thompson's playing time. After averaging 29.9 minutes in 2016-17, his per game number fell to just 20.2, and he started just 22 of the 53 games he took part in. Thompson's lack of court time resulted in a career-low 5.8 points, as well as just 6.6 rebounds and a meager 0.3 blocks. He shot 56.2 percent from the field, but shot just 54.4 percent from the free-throw line, which was yet another negative to his value. Overall, Thompson was nothing more than a rebound specialist in the deepest of leagues. He does have a chance to have somewhat of a bounce-back showing heading into 2018-19. The Cavaliers were unable to retain superstar LeBron James, who instead signed with the Lakers. With such a high usage player leaving, Thompson is sure to see a few more minutes per game and his numbers should trend upwards overall, even if he continues to come off the bench for the bulk of the time. That said, Kevin Love was re-upped to a four-year, $120 million extension and the Cavaliers apparently like what they in athletic big man Larry Nance, both of whom could see time at center and cut into Thompson's workload. As a result, Thompson's expected improvements may only be minor overall.