Tristan Thompson has been holding out for two weeks now from the Cleveland Cavaliers and while many players see it as an unnecessary distraction there doesn't seem to be a resolution in sight. Thompson is looking for a long-term maximum contract while the Cavaliers are unwilling to give him that but they do recognize how important to the team he is. The regular season starts for the Cavaliers next week and it seems very likely Thompson will not be there as he and Cleveland are reportedly not even in contact right now, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Thompson's agent, Rich Paul, has been known to be very stubborn with his demands and he is doing exactly that now with Thompson. Thompson could have accepted a qualifying offer from the Cavaliers that would have paid him close to $7 million this season and made him an unrestricted free agent next summer but he instead turned that down and is looking for a long-term deal.
There is reportedly not much urgency on either side of this thing as Thompson is content to wait it out until the Cavaliers realize they need him and the Cavs are able to wait it out because Kevin Love is back playing and looks ready to go for the regular season.
Although Thompson and his representatives are not talking to the Cavaliers he has reportedly been in constant contact with LeBron James who has tried his best to not get involved in the negotiations. James has said Thompson should be a Cavalier for life and the two of them are good friends besides the fact that Paul is both their agents.
At this point it seems like a realistic possibility that Thompson could decide to sit out the entire season as long as the Cavaliers don't meet his demands. If the Cavaliers start the season playing great and don't miss him they won't have to give into his demands but if they start poorly and miss his defense and offensive rebounding, like many expect they will, then it will be interesting to see how the Cavs handle that situation.
Right now the best bet to make is that this situation will not be resolved by the start of the regular season. The Cavaliers will play at least a few games without Thompson, more than likely, and then they will have to revisit this and see if it's worth it to up their offer. Maybe Thompson won't like sitting out and watching his team play without him but for now the fact that the two sides aren't even talking means that this situation is probably far from over.
