LeBron Not Forcing Thompson Contract; Any Meaning?
LeBron James has gone on record that he thinks Tristan Thompson should be a Cleveland Cavaliers member for life. Then early reports were that LeBron would not sign his deal until Thompson got his this offseason. That one quickly went away and James signed the expected 2 year, with an opt out after 1 year, max deal with the Cavs.
Now comes a report from Cleveland.com that LeBron isn’t trying to push the Cavs to make a deal with Thompson nor will it impact James’ future with the team:
"As the standoff over Tristan Thompson’s contract lingers, LeBron James has not tried to leverage his considerable clout with the Cavaliers to get his friend and teammate more money.But a source close to James said Thompson’s contract is a “non-discussion right now” for James as it relates to his own future, and a team source said the Cavs believe “LeBron’s goals don’t change relative to Tristan Thompson or anyone. Be as good as we can be for as long as we can be.”"
It makes some sense that LeBron would stay out of it, the Cavs have surrounded him with talented, young players that will be together for years to come. Having Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert locked up for the next 4 years is big for LeBron’s goals long term. Keeping one of Thompson or Timofey Mozgov, both of whom, at this point, can be free agents after the season, seems important as well.
So can we read anything into James’ willingness to stay out? Everyone has their theories, and they are fun to banter about:
- LeBron Trusts GM David Griffin: It is possible that James’ trusts what Griff has done and is doing enough that he is willing to take a backseat and just be a basketball player. Unlikely given James’ nature but possible.
- LeBron Believes Cavs Made Fair Offer: Maybe James believes that Thompson is getting a good to great offer and isn’t sure why he hasn’t signed it yet. Maybe LeBron, like most of us, realize that Thompson’s game is limited even if he is an important part of the team.
- LeBron Doesn’t Have Power: Yeah this one is far fetched. His “little brother” was hired yesterday as a scout, Mike Miller, James Jones and Kendrick Perkins were brought in last year at his request and Mo Williams returned partially due to James’ invite.
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- LeBron Knows Thompson Wants to “Go Home” Too: Maybe Tristan really wants to play for the Raptors and LeBron knows only a vast overpay will overcome that desire.
- LeBron Is In Charge of Rich Paul: Here is a fun one. Maybe LeBron believes he can force Paul to knuckle under at some point in time in the next few days and is just waiting to see how much Thompson can get before that happens.
- LeBron is Focused On What He Can Control: Playing for the Heat, James had little control. It worked for the team and LeBron could have learned his lesson. Wielding his power in Cleveland caused for some win now moves that backfired. Instead of worrying about Thompson, James is worried about his body, his teammates and the season.
What theories do you have as to why LeBron hasn’t stepped in to force a Thompson contract?