The Tristan Thompson saga continues

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

TRISTAIN’T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR: The deadline for Tristan Thompson to accept the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer passed at midnight. Since Cleveland didn’t extend the Q.O. deadline on Wednesday, it’s now off the table. Thompson will sign a more lucrative deal or continue to chill on the sidelines. For what it’s worth, the Cavaliers “expect” Thompson at training camp on Friday, but that could be a bit of media framing to turn the public sentiment against Thompson.

I’m starting to wonder how much the Cavaliers really need Thompson. He’s a versatile, good defender and a brilliant offensive rebounder. Kevin Love can handle the latter if he’s not camped on the perimeter. Can David Blatt gameplan around a lack of Thompson on defense? I think so: he wasn’t going to be a starter anyway. It feels like Thompson is going to start costing himself money now.

BACK-TO-BACK: Steve Kerr had a couple of back surgeries in the offseason, the last in September. Training camp activities were hard on him, so he’s taking an indefinite leave of absence to heal up. Luke F’n Walton is the interim head coach.

LET’S HYPE THE PELS: Professor Flannery and I dug into the Pelicans for the F&Z preview series, and we’re both very excited about their season to come. Here’s how The Bird Writes feels about the season. We also previewed the Orlando Magic, who may or may not be ready to put it all together. Orlando Pinstriped Post has your optimistic local preview.

NEAT: A designer pitched out modernized NBA logos.

MY LORD: LeBron ostensibly posted a photo of his adorable daughter during Thursday Night Football to show her off. Instead he really showed off his incredibly large TV set-up. Like The Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium large.

ERROR JORDAN: So people still argue who is responsible for the success of the partnership between Michael Jordan and Nike, which dates back 31 years now. I really hope this means to say people are arguing over who is second-most important to this success, yeah?

THE MICHAEL MALONE LOVE TOUR BEGINS: One thing that’s notable about Michael Malone is that his players love him. And it turns out that Kenneth Faried really loves Michael Malone.

YO: This Serbian club Mega Leks went full-on highlighter pink and green for their uniforms. Inspired, yet insane.

AND ANOTHER ONE: Gordon Hayward is continuing his attack on Colin Cowherd over stuff Cowherd said about gamers and eSports competitors being dirty dorks. In other news, Gordon Hayward is the best.

WNBA FINALS! The Finals begin on Sunday in the WNBA. Swish Appeal will have all the previews you need.

A NEW SPECIAL ADVISOR: Gen. Martin E. Dempsey has been appointed as a special advisor to Adam Silver, reports the New York Times. He was the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Obama until his recent retirement.

Happy Friday. See you next time.