Late last week it seemed like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson had finally come to a resolution on the ongoing contract situation. There were reports that Thompson had agreed to a three year $53 million deal but that was then changed to Thompson would accept that from the Cavaliers. After all of that noise about nothing they are back in the same predicament and have only three more days to resolve the issue. Thompson and the Cavs have reportedly still not agreed to a deal and he is not expected to be at the team's media day, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
When it was first reported that Thompson and the Cavs had agreed to the $53 million deal it was a bit of a surprise because the Cavs have made it clear they don't want to budge from their original five year $80 million offer. Thompson all along was demanding a five year $94 million deal but has now reportedly lowered that demand to three years $53 million.
Thompson and his agent, Rich Paul, have said that if he plays this season on the qualifying offer, which remains the most likely outcome, he will not re-sign with the Cavaliers next summer. The qualifying offer would pay Thompson $6.9 million this season and make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason. There are reportedly a few teams that would be willing to pay Thompson the max next summer if he were to become a free agent.
This situation has been very drawn out and the two sides still remain far apart. Thompson will not be at Cleveland's media day and although they aren't considering this a holdout this could be an unwanted distraction for a team that has championship aspirations this year.
Thompson has until Thursday, October 1st to sign the qualifying offer which he will likely wait until the last minute to do in hopes that the Cavs give in to his demands. At this point Thompson playing out this year on the qualifying offer seems like a certainty it is just a matter of signing the paperwork. By signing the qualifying offer Thompson would be risking a lot of financial security and be betting on himself big time. Thompson will be coming off the bench this season so his ability to put up big numbers and enhance his value will be hindered by his presumed lack of big minutes.
