One would think that Lebron James would have at least made a verbal commitment to return to Cleveland, but apparently this is not the case.
Though there is no other team involved this time, James is reportedly holding out because he is seriously sticking by his word to employ a wait-and-see approach. And this includes the re-signing of the vital cogs the Cavs had last year before he ends up officially signing on the dotted line.
One player that the Cavs will need to make sure of the re-signing is Tristan Thompson. According to reports, James is not talking about anything until the Cavs strike a deal with Thompson.
This despite the fact that the Cavs had already mentioned that they would make qualifying offers to Thompson, Kevin Love, Matthew Delladedova and Iman Shumpert. For now, there is no indication that other teams are interested in Thompson or that Thompson wants to jump ship.
Talks between the Cavs and Thompson's camp already commenced last Wednesday but have since been stalled. The last word out is that both parties have resumed talks.
Thompson could have re-signed with the Cavaliers as early as October last year after he was offered a $52-million contract extension. But agent Rich Paul, also James' agent, and Thompson turned down that offer, presumably with the intent of earning more money during NBA free agency.
The Cavs will need to settle the Thompson issue first before moving on to James. But what will James do if the Cavs and Thompson fail to reach an agreement? Will he still hold out? Will he consider playing for another team in the upcoming season?
James has already proven that he is not shy about jumping ship. At a time when the move was quite unpopular for a player of his stature, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, where he played for four seasons. He took the Heat to the finals in all four seasons and won the championship for them twice.
