When NBA Free Agency kicked off, reports came out quickly that Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers had agreed on a 5 year, $80 million deal. Seemed like a lot of money but for various reasons the deal was a fair one. Then, not as quickly as most things are rebutted, came reports that the two sides had not come to an agreement.
At first the hope was that this was all due to the dreaded period where teams could talk but not actually sign players to contracts. We hoped that Thompson would be signing on the dotted line around the same time Kevin Love and LeBron James did.
Yet it was not to be.
So now, a month and a half after the start of NBA Free Agency, the Cavs and Thompson are at a stalemate. Reports have come out that Double T will only sign his one year tender and never return to the Cavs after next year. That is his agent, the same one that represents LeBron, doing his job.
But what about that originally reported deal? The one that Thompson’s friend, and countryman, T.J. Ford even tweeted congratulations about?
According to one report, new to us, is that Thompson had indeed agreed to the deal but other contracts given out made him back out and demand more money:
"Thompson and the Cavaliers had reached an agreement early in free agency that was believed to have been centered on a five-year deal worth some $80 million. The problem with doing a deal at that number is that virtually everyone in Thompson’s talent range got substantially more, most receiving the NBA maximum salary, some for less years, but most for the same year one dollar amount.Thompson’s camp pulled back from the $80 million number, wanting the Cavs to step up with more based on what virtually everyone else in Thompson’s peer range got. This poses a major problem for the Cavaliers, not because they don’t value Thompson, but because of where they are in the NBA luxury tax structure."
If this report is true, it shines a whole new light on the situation. The Cavs believed they had Tristan locked up and were comfortable with the contract they had given. Thompson had agreed that his value was appropriate at about $16 million a season. Everyone was happy.
Then, not unlike the DeAndre Jordan situation, the waiting period caused problems. Draymond Green got more money overall and per year. Greg Monroe and Enes Kanter got more money per year. Never a starter Reggie Jackson got the same deal Thompson had agreed to.
Salaries this off-season seemed out of whack but for, Thompson and his agent, it set the market differently for the power forward. They went back to the Cavs and demanded more. The Cavs, believing they had their guy already locked up, for a ton of money, have balked at Thompson’s demands.
If this report is true, it makes sense why the negotiations have continued so long. The Cavs believed they were done and moved on. Thompson believes the market demands he gets paid more and can’t go back to the old deal after walking away from it. Each needs to save face. Each wants to get what they think is right.
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Tristan Thompson may have agreed to a 5 year, $80 million deal but now believes he should get more.
The Cleveland Cavaliers may have agreed to a 5 year, $80 million deal and may believe that is Thompson’s worth. If the team feels like Thompson backed out of an agreement, they are less likely to bend to his demands.
It will be interesting to see if either side budges after reportedly having already come to an agreement once.
What do you think about this report? Do you think Thompson backed out of an agreement?