Finally, it appeared, the last horse had crossed the line.
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About 14 minutes later, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal not only said no deal was struck, but the Cavs weren’t really interested in meeting Thompson’s updated demands either. “But for now, we’re just playing ball”. Thompson was in Miami working out as of late last week, according to sources. Does this newest development hint a deal might at least be in the near future?
The undisputed leader of the Cavaliers franchise carried the team to the brink of hoisting the Larry O’ Brien trophy for the first time before falling short by two wins. This brotherhood will take us to the next level.. “I also know that I’m still the best player in the world”.
It’s still a surprise to many that Thompson is still unsigned.
“You end up getting a few sort of cohesiveness and togetherness the more you’re around different guys”, Love said.
Well, mainly because Thompson isn’t exactly making a huge sacrifice here.
Paul and Thompson are now willing to take a three-year deal for $53 million, which is still basically a max contract for a lesser time period, but the Cavs have not agreed to those terms.
“Every year you lose in the Finals, it gets worse and worse to get over”, James said.
Irving, 23, has also spent the off-season rehabilitating his injury. “It’s certainly his right to do this”.
However, if there’s any glimmer of hope to find here, it’s that something happened at all.
It is very clear that if Tristan Thompson hits free agency next year, a team is going to offer him a maximum contract. That is not because the Cleveland Cavaliers have not offered any type of contract. Then, suddenly things fell through, and it was reported that Thompson felt that deal wasn’t on-par with what other big men got in free agency.
“It gave me my best opportunity to win a championship and contribute to a championship team”, said the 35-year-old, who will likely serve as James’ backup at small forward. A vital cog during their Finals run when Kevin Love got injured, he and the team have yet to reach agreement but this did not faze GM David Griffin as he spoke with USA Today. But relevant history on each side of this negotiation should be taken into account: both sides have connections to previous holdouts.
Almost averaging a double-double with 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds, Love was still instrumental to Cleveland’s success last season and his familiarity with head coach David Blatt’s system should help him improve in his role this year.
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But the fact that Love is a three-time National Basketball Association All Star, the figures were far from the ones he last put up when he was still with the T-Wolves. They all know, our new players, coming here, that representing the Cavs at the highest level is what it’s all about.
