The NBA offseason continues on and Tristan Thompson is still not signed to a long-term contract. The power forward has received zero interest on the free agent market as the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to try and ink the star to a new deal, but negotiations are falling flat leaving Thompson to make a decision. Having already had a qualifying offer placed on him at the start of free agency, will Thompson favor the one-year deal with an eye on free agency next season?
The Cavaliers are strapped for salary cap space which is reflecting on the contract talks with Thompson. According to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, Thompson is appearing more willing to signed his one-year qualifying offer of $6.8 million with the intention of becoming a free agent next season and capitalize on a new deal then. While that would certainly help the Cavaliers in the short-term, it means they risk losing Thompson next season for nothing in return. At the start of the offseason, Thompson wanted a max contract or something close to it, but that is no longer an option after big deals were handed out to Kevin Love, LeBron James and Iman Shumpert.
According to James, Thompson will be in Cleveland next season. The two players are represented by the same agent who intends on getting the power forward his money. The question is whether Thompson returns as a one-year option or the winner of a long-term deal. In a Twitter Q&A with fans, James replied "Yeah of course he will. Means way too much to our team success" when asked if Thompson was re-signing with the Cavaliers. That is assumed, the question is simply for how much does return for?
With JR Smith still seeking a return to the Cavaliers as well, both he and Thompson are left with very limited options. Cleveland simply cannot afford any big deals and both players will have to return on pay cuts if they want to play for the Cavaliers. For Smith, he could really head anywhere if someone else offers a contract. According to FOX Sports, the Lakers are not interested in the guard as originally reported. That leaves his best option as returning to Cleveland on what is expected to be a minimum deal. With trade interest non-existent in Anderson Varejao, the Cavaliers have very little options to free up cap space and simply must hope everyone has bought in to winning over money.
