TORONTO -- As the clocked ticked toward 10 p.m., two hours away from ringing in the new year, Tristan Thompson paused from his locker inside Scotiabank Arena, contemplated and smirked when asked about what stood out most in 2019.

“The new faces,” Thompson said. “Young guys getting better. We added some good young pieces. I’m happy. I’m happy with our young guys. They want to learn, they want to be great and they’re going to keep pushing day in and day out.”

In a way, this decade has come full circle for Thompson. He arrived near the start of it, in 2011, as the Cavaliers were transitioning into a post-LeBron James era. Still trying to recover from James’ crushing departure, the first few years were filled with losses, roster turnover and organizational change. The players could only cling to future hope as the team hovered near the depths of the league. At that point, Thompson was one of the young core pieces expected to lead the Cavaliers’ rebirth alongside Kyrie Irving.

As the decade came to a close Tuesday night in his native country, ending with another double-digit defeat that dropped the Cavs to 10-23 on the season, the third-worst mark in the Eastern Conference, the vibe was, in many ways, familiar for Thompson -- even though he hasn’t really thought about it in that sense.

James, after coming back to revive the franchise for four remarkable years, isn’t around anymore. The Cavs are rebuilding again. They are forced to find positives when they may not seem obvious.

But there’s one stark difference: Thompson may not be part of this turnaround. His future cloudy because of his contract situation, Thompson knows 2020 and beyond isn’t about him. He has an important role, one of the team leaders charged with paying it forward, passing down the lessons he learned early on. But Cleveland’s future is tied to youngsters Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler -- once the sharpshooter finally makes his debut.

“I don’t get frustrated at all,” Thompson said. “Since Day One, I’ve been through the highs and lows so I’m here for the long haul, I’m here to stick it out and help these young guys.”

His message has been clear.

“No shortcuts. Do the right thing day in and day out. Don’t cheat the game. Be good to the game and the game will be good to you,” Thompson said. “What you put in is what you’re going to get out of it. That’s what I try to tell them every night and every game that we are out there. Put your best foot forward, work on your game every summer and the results will show.”

Thompson said he’s starting to see signs with Sexton, Garland and Porter. He pointed to Porter getting a big opportunity to help lead the bench, tasked with trying to pick up the scoring slack for Jordan Clarkson, who was dealt to Utah a week ago. Thompson likes the aggressiveness of Sexton and Garland.

The year was good to Sexton. In 2019, he ended his first season on a tear. Sexton finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and made second-team All-Rookie, which still eats at him. Then he came back in even better shape, with an improved game as a sophomore. He capped this month with another 20-point performance against the Raptors, the kind that led to him twice being nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors of late.

The 20-year-old guard heads into 2020 as the Cavs’ leading scorer, averaging 18.0 points and analytically being one of Cleveland’s most productive players.

Sexton has his faults. His court vision has been criticized since he arrived and his assist numbers are actually down, part of that stemming from moving off the ball. The other part is not yet taking that step forward as a passer. He’s also struggled with his outside shot, but isn’t concerned about it, brushing off the significant dip from a year ago (going from 40% to 27%) and vowing to be better as the season progresses.

“I’m going to get it back going,” Sexton said. “I know what I can do.”

Even with his outside shot abandoning him recently, Sexton continues to score around the rim, shooting 56.3% in the restricted area. His overall shooting percentage is up.

Porter, the 30th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, capped the best month of his young career with his eighth double-digit scoring game in December after hitting that mark just twice in October and November. Garland has tallied at least 14 points in four of the last seven games. The consistency that lacked early on is coming.

“Knowing their age, these guys that are so young, they’d be sophomores and juniors in college right now,” head coach John Beilein said. “They’re all trending in the right direction. I’ve been saying that and they will still have bumps in the road, but I love the energy that they’re playing with and challenges they’re taking on. I look at the defensive numbers all the time and they’ve had some really good games in the past couple of nights. I like it. There are going to be growing pains, but I love coaching them.”

Beilein believes familiarity has sparked the rise. Garland and Porter, both 19, have gotten used to the rigorous travel schedule, developed a specific routine and are starting to understand scouting reports better. Beilein even noticed a small step on Tuesday morning that had him glowing. Typically the shootaround will begin as a review for the young guys. Not in Toronto. They already had it down, ready to go immediately.

As much as a new year is about reflecting on what was, learning from the past and growing from those lessons, it’s also about looking ahead. The year didn’t end the way the Cavs wanted Tuesday night in Toronto. It’s fair to say the season overall has matched expectations, especially when it comes to the win column. But the Cavs didn’t grab their 10th victory last season until late January. That shows progress. When discussing the future, peering into the new year, it’s flooded with optimism.

“There’s a lot of promise. I’m hoping there will be leaps and bounds for the second half of the season,” Kevin Love said. “Guys will start to figure it out, continue to get better and hopefully that means better results. Like any young players, they just have to be more disciplined.

"Like with KP, early on I thought, ‘This kid has a chance to be really special, has all the tools.’ You can see flashes and he’s played more under control. The more minutes he gets the better he is going to be. Excited to see where him and the other guys go.”

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