Tristan Thompson Saga Shows Fine Line Cavaliers Face in Title Chase
There are arguments to be made for Tristan Thompson eyeing a max deal and the Cleveland Cavaliers instead attempting to save every possible penny.
But that doesn't mean this situation makes any sense.
The last thing the Cavs need is another distraction. They're working Kyrie Irving (knee) and Kevin Love (shoulder) back from surgery, and they just lost Iman Shumpert (wrist) for the next three months. Sophomore head coach David Blatt is set to spend another season in the spotlight, and LeBron James is getting antsy with his 31st birthday looming in December.
"I have no time to waste," James told USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. "My ultimate goal is to win a championship, and it starts now."
Cleveland's championship preparations should start now, but there's an unnecessary obstacle in the way. Thompson and the Cavs are doing exactly what the King said he can't: wasting time.
Remember how simple these negotiations seemed in July? Less than 24 hours after the market opened, sources were telling ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of a near-agreement on a five-year, $80 million-plus pact between Thompson and the Cavaliers.
Three months later, there's still nothing signed. The only thing that's changed is Thompson and his representatives let Thursday's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline pass without accepting a one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer, a source told ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
Unless the Cavs extend that offer again, it's no longer available. There are only three ways for this story to end: Thompson signing an offer sheet with another team (which Cleveland could match), he and the Cavs agreeing on a new deal or him sitting out the season and this headache carrying over into next summer when he re-enters restricted free agency.
Forget about the first option. Only the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers could give him a starting salary north of $10 million, and neither has any incentive to do so.
Sitting out this season sounds beyond foolish. Thompson would have no more control over his own destiny than he does now, and he'd be more than 12 months removed from his last NBA appearance. That's a hardly a way to drive up value, even with the new TV money arriving.
The final chapter has all but been decided; everyone's just waiting on Thompson and the organization to figure out the details.
This shouldn't be as complicated as it has been. Thompson's agent, Rich Paul, has asked for either a five-year, $94 million max or a three-year, $53 million deal, sources told McMenamin. The Cavs have offered $80 million for five years.
There's a gap between them, but it's negligible. The average annual salaries would be $18.8 million, $17.7 million and $16 million, respectively. There has to be a rate that works for both parties.
And frankly, Cleveland's offer looks more than reasonable, as SB Nation's Tom Ziller observed:
"While Thompson is perfectly justified to chase that dough, let us all acknowledge that his contract demands are rather ridiculous.
Thompson averaged eight points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers last season. He will be backing up Kevin Love and Timofey Mozgov this season, probably averaging no more than 25 minutes per game. ... Thompson is a very good offensive rebounder; Love happens to be one of the best in the league. Thompson is a versatile defender capable of switching the pick-and-roll. That's a nice skill. It's not an $18.8 million per year skill. If we're being honest, it's not a $16 million skill either, even in this inflated salary environment.
"
Six players are slated to make between $16 million and $17 million this season: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Enes Kanter, Greg Monroe, Wesley Matthews and Tobias Harris. All six trumped Thompson's scoring average (8.5) and player efficiency rating (15.6).
One can understand why the Cavs have yet to budge. But the longer this lingers, the more damaging it becomes.
The concern isn't with Thompson the player. His energy and defensive versatility are nice to have, but this frontcourt looks strong without him. Love has had a year to get comfortable in Cleveland, Anderson Varejao is back from a torn Achilles, Timofey Mozgov could stampede through his contract year and Sasha Kaun can throw his 6'11", 250-pound frame around.
Oh, and word is that LeBron guy can play a pretty mean power forward when he has to.
That being said, expendable is hardly the right word to describe Thompson as a person.
"My thoughts on Tristan are [he is] always ready, always energetic and always willing to do whatever it is to help the team," Blatt told McMenamin in May. "Those three things are what make him special for us."
Thompson is the type of teammate any player wants: dependable, consistent and a steady source of effervescence. As ESPN's Jeff Goodman noted, Thompson has no shortage of fans inside Cleveland's locker room:
Chief among Thompson's supporters is the unofficial governor of Ohio.
"I thought we all saw what he was able to do last year in the postseason, and not only in the postseason but all year-round to help us be successful," James said, via the Northeast Ohio Media Group's Joe Vardon. "So I'm very optimistic something will get done on both sides long term."
James shares a friendship and an agent with Thompson. Just five months back, James publicly opined that Thompson "should probably be a Cavalier his entire career," via McMenamin.
All of that makes this a sticky situation for Cleveland. Public perception, whether accurate or not, is that James would just as soon back up the Brink's truck for Thompson. And any move that makes the King happy is probably worth making.
Even if the Cavs are making the right business move with Thompson, their fans have 45 reasons to worry: as in the number of seasons this franchise has been around—and the number of seasons that have failed to produce a title.
The 2015-16 campaign looks like the potential drought-snapper. Oddsmakers like the Cavs more than anyone, and simply employing James has meant a free pass to each of the past five NBA Finals.
But the margin for error in a championship run is wafer-thin. The Cavs don't need to rock their own boat with the distraction these flatlined negotiations have created.
James has already distanced himself from the talks and said he's done discussing them. But does anyone think that will keep reporters from pestering him, his teammates or Cleveland's coaches and executives about it?
The Cavs have enough to worry about as it is.
The clock is ticking both on James' age and the financial implications of this roster. Even without new deals for Thompson and Mozgov, there could be upwards of $98.55 million on the 2016-17 payroll already, per Basketball Insiders.
Cleveland needs to move quickly and navigate an Eastern Conference that holds no true rivals, but looks a lot deeper than last time around. The West is again shaping up to be a bloodbath, as loaded and lethal as it's been in years.
Whoever hoists the 2016 Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy will have earned it through brilliant play, expert coaching and a colossal serving of good fortune.
If the Cavs are that team, they'll have to catch their fair share of breaks and clear all the hurdles that will inevitably appear—including the self-made one already obstructing their path.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
