A few days ago, it was reported that Tristan Thompson and agent Rich Paul will not be accepting any offers less than the five-year, $94 million max contract which they have repeatedly said they have requested the Cleveland Cavaliers to offer Thompson. The Cavaliers have said they're only willing to pay Thompson a five-year, $80 million deal. While Paul and Thompson are adamant on their contract price, apparently the Cavaliers will not change their offer to Thompson either.
Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com joined Hoops Rumors to talk about this Tristan Thompson scenario that has been going on for far too long.
Haynes said, "I'm not really sure what the outcome will be, but all I know is Rich Paul is asking for five years and $94 million and the Cavaliers are $14 million short of that figure. That's Randy Moss-type separation. There's limited to zero communication between the two sides because of that tremendous gap."
However, the Cavaliers feel like they have offered the long-term deal Thompson deserves for a power forward that came off the bench and averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds last season. Thompson had a bigger role in the playoffs when Kevin Love was out, but the Cavaliers re-signed Love, and Thompson will likely come off the bench for the Cavaliers when Love is healthy.
If Thompson gets the max deal he wants, he would be making more than Paul Millsap, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard which is just too much at this point.
Chris Haynes also said, "The Cavaliers believe they've presented a more-than-generous offer for a player who figures to be a backup for them. I suspect a long-term deal is reached closer to camp. Paul has shown he's more than willing to play the waiting game."
This is a very similar situation last year with guard Eric Bledsoe and Rich Paul when they played the waiting game with the Phoenix Suns and were demanding a bigger long-term contract. A deal for Bledsoe was eventually reached in mid-September.
Thompson has until October 1 to accept his qualifying offer. After that, he will no longer have a one-year option on the table, so everyone can anticipate negotiations between Thompson and the Cavs to gain attraction when training camp starts very soon.
Cavaliers give Thompson the best shot at winning a title, and you would not think he would leave Cleveland, especially with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and company in town. James has already said that Thompson should be a Cavalier for life and there is no reason he shouldn't be.