To date, Tristan Thompson remains unsigned and both he and the Cleveland Cavaliers remain at a stalemate.
Thompson was looking for a max contract which unfortunately may not be given. Thompson is seeking a five-year deal worth up to $90 million but it seems that the Cavs are unwilling to give in to that demand.
So if that would be the case, the only choice that Thompson may get is a $6.8 million qualifying offer. Thompson is a restricted free agent with the Cavaliers.
But there is a new twist in the equation. It seems that if Thompson ends up signing the qualifying offer, Thompson will likely play elsewhere next season. This was revealed by his agent Rich Paul who is also the agent of Lebron James.
"A Tristan Thompson qualifying offer will be his last year with Cavs," Paul told media outlets.
On whether that is a threat to put more pressure on Dan Gilbert and the Cavs remains to be seen but some view it as perhaps pushing Thompson's luck a wee bit too far.
Thompson did step up for the Cavs when most of the frontline like Kevin Love went down to injury. Though he did jack up his numbers in the NBA Finals, it remains to be seen if that jump would be enough to net him a max contract.
Thompson's value is undoubtedly important but the question now is how much is he truly worth. There are some who feel that despite his improvement in the NBA finals, the performance may be a bit far from placing him among the NBA's best forwards.
With the Cavs, he is perhaps the fourth best player on the team behind James, Kyrie Irving and Love. But that as well could be up for debate.
Folks saw what Timofey Mozgov had to offer and so with Iman Shumpert. Looking at the support cast, is Thompson at the top of that list?
The story may be different if Thompson were playing for a different team but somehow a max contract doesn't seem feasible for him, at least not yet.
