Fantasy Impact: Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul, has repeatedly said that if the team does not meet his client’s demands, he will sign a one-year qualifying offer and then seek to sign elsewhere in the off-season.
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Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a summer-long standoff over Thompson’s next contract. Power forward Tristan Thompson has still not agreed to either accept the one year tender offer that was placed on him by the Cavaliers before the start of free agent in July or a five year contract worth $80 million that has been on the table since the start of free agency.
For the Cavs, while they’ve been smart not to bend to a max. salary for Thompson – their $80 million offer is right on par with what other bigs have gotten this offseason – they are playing with fire.
If Thompson agrees to the tender offer, Thompson will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2015-2016 National Basketball Association season. His agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN last month that if Thompson signs the one-year qualifier, he will not re-sign with the Cavs long-term in 2016. Thompson, who is a restricted free agent, is seeking a max deal worth $94 million. If Thompson does sign the qualifying offer he will be the 21st player in the modern era to do so, and of the 20 players to previously sign a qualifying offer only one has re-signed with that team the next year. Should Thompson decide to do this, he should be inclined for a decent season. In the National Basketball Association Finals against the Golden State Warriors, he averaged 11.6 points and 12.6 rebounds.
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The Cavs and Tristan Thompson are not close to a new deal with training camp opening a week from today.
