5 players the Trail Blazers must target if they want to make the playoffs

5. Tristan Thompson

It remains unclear if Tristan Thompson actually will be bought out, but rest assured he’d be the hottest commodity on the block if he did hit the open market.

Owed $18.5 million this year before hitting unrestricted free agency, it would make sense for Cleveland to eliminate the financial hit by negotiating a buyout in a season where they clearly intend to tank and earn another high lottery pick. Besides, his fit next to Andre Drummond in the frontcourt is questionable at best.

The 28-year-old veteran has experienced a resurgence on this struggling Cavaliers team, cleary asserting himself as an alpha among the pack. Thompson is averaging 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, with 40 percent of those boards coming on offense.

He would be a pretty clear upgrade over incumbent backup center Caleb Swanigan, capable of crashing the glass and stifling opposing offenses in the paint. While making a rotation of Thompson, Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic work would be tricky — having too much talent is a good problem to have. You rarely see players of Thompson’s ability looking to join a contender for cheap, and passing on that opportunity would be a bad move.

However, for that same reason, acquiring Tristan would be an unlikely gambit. There are teams with better records that will be interested. Others can offer more money on the table. Some suitors could even entice him with the sunny skies and clear beaches — Lord knows he needs it after nine seasons spent in Cleveland.

For these reasons, I wouldn’t expect this move to ever materialize. That doesn’t mean Neil Olshey shouldn’t at least pick up the phone though.