Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to be worlds apart as far as a deal is concerned, and a one-year deal is what many believe would be the likely end of it all.
But the thing is, Thompson may no longer be interested in playing for the Cavs next season if he ends up agreeing to the one-year deal.
Such was revealed by Thompson's agent Rich Paul via ESPN last week, mentioning that if his guy accepts a qualifying offer, he is good as gone after the 2015–16 season. The qualifying offer is estimated to be at $6.8 million for one year.
If that should be the case, could the Cavs move forward and use Thompson as eventual trade bait? The thought isn't far from happening.
For how can the Cavs have trust in someone who seems to be signing up just to go through the motion of playing his final season and then taking it from there? Could a trade be forthcoming?
Speaking of trades, there could be a likely candidate the Cavs could set their eyes on — Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns. Morris has made it clear that he wants out of Phoenix, although Cleveland was not one of his mentioned destinations.
Morris said earlier that he would be interested in joining the Houston Rockets or the Toronto Raptors. So why not include the Cleveland Cavaliers to the mix?
Morris mentioned that the reason for his choices was that he wanted to play alongside James Harden (Rockets) or maybe Kyle Lowry (Raptors). So why not append that and add possibly playing alongside Lebron James too and, if lucky, vie for an NBA title?
The thought seems tempting, although it may be too soon to conclude.
Such becomes an option for the Cavs if they don't end up fixing the Thompson issue. Thompson is seeking a max deal; and while they are not talking, it seems that the Cavs are not convinced that he deserves one, at least not yet.
