CLEVELAND _ Coach Tyronn Lue admitted he dreaded telling Tristan Thompson he had decided to go with Kevin Love as the Cavaliers' starting center this season.
But Thompson allayed those fears and quickly turned a difficult discussion into an ambitious goal for the season.
"I'm going to go for Sixth Man of the Year, put myself in position to do that," Thompson said after the team's Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Thompson also used a flash from the past to help ease his mind, and his coach's.
"I definitely knew where T-Lue was coming from and it was definitely tough, I could see, when I was talking to him," Thompson said. "But I told him I'm one guy you don't have to worry about. I'm a team-first guy. I understand that at the end of the day it's about winning, and if you win we all look good _ whether you come off the bench or you start.
"And it's not about who starts the game, it's about who is in the game in the fourth and who is finishing it. So, I'm not worried. The last time I came off the bench, if history repeats itself, we had a parade in June. So, I'll take it."
That was during the 2016 season, when Timofey Mozgov started 48 of 76 games, although he was no factor by the Finals, as the Cavs ended Cleveland's 52-year championship drought.
Lue's decision on Love was one of the revelations that came after the Cavs' backups defeated the starters, with scoring loosely recorded, in just under three quarters of play with a running clock.
Lue said LeBron James, who turned his left ankle in practice on Sept. 27, would not play in Wednesday's 7 p.m. preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks at the Q. But Lue said James will see action before the Cavs open the regular season Oct. 17 at home against the Boston Celtics.
Forward Cedi Osman, signed in the offseason after playing in Turkey, did not get in the scrimmage and has been bothered by back spasms the last two or three days, Lue said.
Lue hasn't made up his mind about playing Dwyane Wade at point guard with the second unit, but Wade enthusiastically embraced the role. Wade opened at the 2 with the starters, but switched to the 1 with the reserves in the second quarter and handed out five assists.
"It allows me to be a playmaker, which I love when you have guys like Kyle Korver out there, Channing Frye, sometimes J.R. [Smith]," Wade said of the role. "Whatever lineups coach puts out there, it gives me an opportunity to have the ball in my hand, make plays and obviously score.
"There's so much talent on this team, I'm trying to get used to all the weapons that we have. But I like it. I like the changeup. I think the second unit is going to have to be very good for this team to be as successful as it wants to be."
Wade said directing the second unit was one of the things he talked about with Lue before signing on Sept. 27.
"Most of it's having the ball in your hands and I've always had the ball in my hands my whole career," Wade said. "It's not really playing point guard, just being a playmaker more than anything. That was the one thing for me that I was excited about _ I like playing with shooters and I like playing with big men who can roll. Tristan can roll and we've got a bunch of shooters on this team.
"Definitely understand also how important that unit will be when we get that opportunity to make sure when LeBron is resting, that team can be a plus this season. It wasn't a plus last year in that second unit."
While Wade talked as if that decision was nearly certain, Lue said, "Not yet. Not yet," adding that he has a plan but is not ready to reveal it.
But Lue waited to disclose the news on Thompson, saying he had the conversation with Thompson three or four days ago.
Asked what he likes with Love at center, Lue said, "Just gives us spacing on the floor. [Love] is a great passer, fives have to get out and try to guard him on the pick and roll with LeBron and DRose [Derrick Rose] and those guys making plays, so it's going to be tough for those guys. We liked it. The biggest thing is, Tristan has been a big part of what we do. I hated having that conversation, but it was great."
Thompson said Lue explained the decision as mainly to open the floor and give Love more room to operate.
Along with Thompson's sixth man goal, he embraced the possibility of playing extended minutes with Wade.
"That's going to be really good," Thompson said of Wade with the second unit. "That's like old Miami when they had L.O. [Lamar Odom] and Caron [Butler] when they played Indiana in the playoffs. I will take it. D-Wade's coming off the bench and running pick-and-roll with me.
"He told me to be ready to catch some lobs. I said, 'Yeah, I haven't gotten no lobs since Delly [Matthew Dellavedova],' so I will take 'em. Makes my job easier."
