Tristan Thompson's current situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers is still in limbo at the moment and there haven't been too many updates on the contract negotiations recently, but he is still expected to sign the qualifying offer he received worth $6.8 million dollars for this upcoming season. If Thompson does sign that qualifying offer he will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016, and it is being reported that there is a decent chance he may wind up with the Toronto Raptors, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
Thompson was born in Toronto, so he obviously has ties to the team and the city, but that is just the beginning of why there are rumblings of him returning home. Thompson is represented by Rich Paul, who is also the agent of LeBron James and Cory Joseph, among others. What Joseph and James have in common, other than an agent, is that they were able to return to their home towns to play basketball, and Thompson may be next in line to do so.
Joseph and Thompson have also played basketball together since they were young kids, so they have a longstanding relationship that would only help to lure the 6-foot-9 forward back home. Another reason Paul might push Thompson to return home to Toronto is that he would be much more marketable in his hometown than he could ever be in Cleveland, which would obviously bring in more money.
The Raptors are currently weakest at power forward, which happens to be Thompson's position, and he would likely be a good fit with center Jonas Valanciunas, who just signed a four-year extension with Toronto. Getting Thompson to come to Toronto won't be the easiest thing for the Raptors. though. as they will have to figure out some financial issues even with the cap going up.
Thompson recently turned down an offer from the Cavaliers that was reportedly in excess of $80 million over five years, so he is likely looking for a maximum contract or something extremely close. As of right now, the Raptors have $80 million in salaries on the books for the 2016-17 season, so they would have to do some maneuvering to fit Thompson in, but that wouldn't be too much of an issue.
Paul has said earlier this month that if Thompson signs the qualifying offer, it will be "his last year with the Cavs," according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media group, so free agency next summer is sounding more and more likely. The summer of 2016 is still far away, and nothing is even close to set in stone, but Raptors fans have to like the idea of another hometown kid potentially coming home to play basketball for their team. It also helps that Thompson is a very good player and would likely help them win, but that's beside the point.
