The Cleveland Cavaliers are working to sign Tristan Thompson to a contract and while talks have hit a snag, a deal is likely to get done and this comes after the team has signed back Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert in free agency, while the team could target players like Mo Williams, David West, Caron Butler and Tayshaun Prince once the dust settles on LeBron.
The Cavaliers were expected to sign back Love and Thompson this offseason, but they also brought back Shumpert on a big deal and could sign JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova. James reportedly wanted to take a "wait and see" approach to free agency to see what the Cavs and Kevin Love would do, and now he is poised to come back soon. The Cavs likely will sign James to a deal for around $25 million and he could have an opt out again for next summer to take advantage of the salary cap.
UPDATE: Report: Report: Cavaliers have 'huge interest' in David West. West reportedly is interested in the Spurs, Wizards and Cavaliers. UPDATE: The Cavaliers may be looking at a Joe Johnson trade with Brendan Haywood as an option with the Nets. Check here to read more from ESPN.
The team is working on a deal with Thompson and after reports from ESPN that the sides had agreed to a deal on Wednesday, Brian Windhorst reports that the team and Thompson are "still apart" on talks. Windhorst said that he expects a deal to get done and that this is more about getting the numbers where they need to be. The team already has Kyrie Irving and they reportedly have brought back Kevin Love on a max deal worth over $100 million.
The reports about Thompson had the Cavs agreeing to a deal worth $80 million over five years and right now things have slowed down in negotiations. ESPN reports that a deal is likely and this comes as James is on the market, but he is not taking any meetings with teams. The Cavs are interested in mid and low level free agents this summer, as Ramona Shelburne reports that Caron Butler and Tayshaun Prince could be veteran options. The Cavs need more bench help with James Jones and others hitting free agency.
According to the Plain Dealer, Mo Williams said that he is open to returning to the Cavaliers and Chris Haynes reports that the interest is "mutual" for the Cavs. The Cavaliers likely will wait until Thompson and James are signed to bring in bench players and Williams may have to wait until that happens. The team also has Dellavedova on the market and after the way he played in the finals he could be in line with a return. Cavs general manager David Griffin said that the team is also open to bringing back JR Smith, but that could be tough depending on how much money he wants.
The Cavs likely want to keep Shumpert, but with so many other players to sign Smith could be the odd man out for Cleveland. The real question for James is how much he will sign for and how long the contract will be and right now it looks like he could sign another one year deal with an opt out for next summer. James wanting to sign one year deals has nothing to do with the Cavs as a team, but it's more about the salary cap and getting what he is worth on the market and the cap rising over the next few years. James made the major move to sign back with Cleveland and while he wants to help the team have enough money to sign players, he also wants to get paid like he deserves to be.