Tristan Thompson is still at an impasse with the Cleveland Cavaliers, letting Thursday night's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline pass without accepting the one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Tristan Thompson reportedly declines Cavaliers’ qualifying offer
Dan Gilbert’s summer of spending continues, but not in the way the Cavaliers had planned.
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This has been a three-month saga between Thompson and Cleveland. In August, his agent, Rich Paul, told SB Nation that Thompson would not return to the Cavaliers if he had to take the qualifying offer. The two sides have been hung up on the money, with Thompson wanting a max deal and Cleveland refusing to extend that kind of offer.
Despite the deadline passing, Cavs general manager David Griffin said on Thursday he expects Thompson at training camp on Friday:
“We fully expect that tomorrow he will be here in some form or fashion,” Cavaliers GM David Griffin said during NBA TV’s broadcast of Thursday’s training camp. “We’re hopeful that he wants to move forward with his teammates in the same way that we want to have Tristan here. If we can come to some agreement, then we will.”
It was widely assumed that Thompson would sign a lucrative long-term extension this year, and initial reporting in early July even suggested he had. However, talks between the Cavaliers and Thompson reportedly broke down and eventually reached an impasse. Thompson reportedly was seeking a five-year maximum contract worth around $94 million, but the Cavaliers, wary of a huge luxury-tax payment after signing LeBron James, Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert to large extensions, balked.
Last season Thompson averaged 8.5 points and and 8.0 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game. Following Love’s season-ending injury in the first round of the playoffs, Thompson saw his minutes jump to 36.4 per game and responded by upping his points (9.6), rebounds (10.8) and blocks (1.2). He also pulled down an incredible 4.4 offensive rebounds per contest.
Thompson is also the most versatile frontcourt defender on the roster. He can guard big men on the block and can also keep pace with many of the league’s guards if called upon to switch in pick-and-rolls.
While Thompson still doesn’t create his own offense, he and James have learned how to work together on the pick-and-roll. Thompson’s relentless energy and ability to attack the offensive glass makes him a weapon on offense in ways that other non-shooting big men aren’t.
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