As the Cleveland Cavaliers and the top free agent remaining on the market, Tristan Thompson, reportedly are $14 million apart in their contract discussions there has long been an uneasy feeling of a backstory developing. Thompson and Cavs star LeBron James share the same agent, Rich Paul, and there was a concern that if things with Thompson don’t work out, it might not bode well for James’ future with the team.
That appears to be the exact opposite and LeBron will be acting on his own as he continues to keep the Cavs on their toes to continue to improve.
Following from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
“a source close to James said Thompson’s contract is a “non-discussion right now” for James as it relates to his own future, and a team source said the Cavs believe “LeBron’s goals don’t change relative to Tristan Thompson or anyone. Be as good as we can be for as long as we can be.”
LeBron should absolutely operate on a different career path than Thompson. The two players are nowhere near the same level of skill and they are both on different career arches right now. LeBron is going towards the end of his career while Thompson has just started to ascend towards his peak.
But it doesn’t have to be about the differences in career or the same agent. It can be as simple as the Cavaliers should just give Thompson what he wants for a couple of reasons.
If they sign Thompson to a max contract now, in upcoming years his contract won’t be that lucrative. It’ll be an above average contract in the NBA, especially considering a max contract for a player can hit $30 million per season. Locking in Thompson now will solidify his future with the team and it will keep him from heading out of Cleveland – as Rich Paul says Thompson will do if he has to sign the qualifying offer – and avoids him possibly going north of the border, something Thompson says is a dream for all Canadian basketball players. Beyond that, keeping Thompson under contract, especially as he begin his rise into his prime as an interior force would be exactly what the Cavaliers need to help them succeed and further please LeBron as ‘The King’ starts going towards the end of his career.
If the Cavs can’t come to an agreement by October 1st, when the option to sign Thompson for a qualifying offer at about $6 million for the upcoming season expires, then what do the Cavs do in the future? They definitely won’t be able to draft another guy like Tristan Thompson.
