Report: Cavs Pull Tristan Thompson’s $80 Million Offer
We don’t expect the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson to figure things out until well into the season. Hopefully Thompson is back in December, same time frame of Anderson Varejao‘s “holdout”, but it is more likely he returns in January.
We’ve had reports and rumors galore:
- Thompson signed a 5 year, $80 million deal
- Thompson backed out of a verbal agreement after Draymond Green got his deal.
- Thompson and agent Rich Paul were willing to sign Qualifying Offer and leave next year.
- The Toronto Raptors, and other teams, were willing to offer TT the max.
Then we got to the point where Thompson really only has 3 options:
- Sign a deal with another team that the Cavs will match.
- Keep waiting and hope the Cavs struggle without him.
- Agree to terms with the Cavs, presumably for that 5 years and $80 million.
That last option now is a little more cloudy as Larry Coon, a salary cap expert, is reporting that the Cavs pulled that 5 year deal off the table. Coon did so in his chat on Basketball Insiders today:
"CharlieWhat are Tristan Thompson’s options at this point? What do you see as the likely conclusion?Larry CoonOne assumption I think we’re safe making is that if there was a big offer sheet waiting for him, he would have signed it by now. The Cavs were under no obligation to leave their $80 million offer on the table, and from what I heard, pulled it as soon as Thompson’s qualifying offer expired. I heard it was Mark Termini doing the actual negotiating, and he has a reputation for taking a really hard stance in negotiations, but I think he seriously miscalculated this one. Maybe he was thinking LeBron would be more of an influence on the team."
The Cavs pulling their offer to Thompson is a strong statement. When Varejao signed his offer sheet with the then Charlotte Bobcats it ended up being for less than what the Cavs had originally offered. Could the same fate face Thompson?
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For the Cavs, this makes a ton of sense. Thompson has no leverage, can only get a 4 year deal (for less money on average) from another team’s offer and his camp has seemingly been unwilling to budge in their demands for a max deal. The Cavs didn’t have to keep that offer on the table and now Thompson can’t sign his 1 year Qualifying Offer. He is controlled by the Cavs basically for another 2 years at this point.
Thompson and his agent played hard ball, the Cavs called their bluff and now we are left with this struggle. This is playing out similar to the Varejao scenario and, much like J.R. Smith, the Cavs could get Thompson back for less than originally planned.
If Coon is correct, Thompson’s camp played this poorly and the Cavs are left with all the cards. Hopefully this high stakes game of poker ends well for all sides but it is likely to take awhile.
What do you think about this new Tristan Thompson report?
(H/T to our guys at Fear the Sword)