Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson will only re-sign with max deal

It doesn’t appear as though Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to find common ground on a new deal.

After emerging as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defensive energizer and stepping up in the absence of Kevin Love during the playoffs, Tristan Thompson’s confidence in his own value has soared. It’s undeniable that he’s an important part of the team, and it led to LeBron James saying that re-signing him should be the Cavs’ top priority this offseason. But is he really worth a max contract?

The answer to that question is a hesitant “maybe” at best.

Even though Tristan Thompson’s playing time dipped below 30 minutes per game this season, his production and effort still remained strong under the new leadership of LeBron. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 11.4 points on a career high 54.7 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 1 block. He always hustles hard and is willing to do the dirty work, but it hasn’t done quite enough to earn him a max deal.

According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, though, Thompson is still holding strong with his opinion that he’s well and truly earned max money. What’s even more worrying to Cavs fans is that he isn’t willing to sign a long-term contract in Cleveland for anything less.

Bucher made the following statement highlighting Thompson’s unwillingness to take less money:

"“A league source tells me that his agent, Rich Paul, has already made it clear to the Cleveland Cavaliers that Thompson will not sign a long-term deal unless it is a max deal. And otherwise, he is prepared to sign a one-year qualifying offer with the additional knowledge, according to the source, that Paul believes that he can get a max deal with the Raptors next summer.”"

This puts the Cavaliers in a tricky situation. Primarily because he’s a valuable player and he can make a real difference defensively and on the boards. Yet, after re-signing Kevin Love to a five-year, $110 million deal, can they really afford to give away a max contract on a backup big man? Especially for a player as limited offensively as Thompson is?

Even if they had the cap space to do so, it’s still unlikely they would choose to do so.

He attempted just 7.2 percent of his shots from 10-16 feet out last season, whilst making only 31.4 percent of them. Add on the fact he allowed opponents to shoot a generous 52.2 at the rim, and it’s fairly apparent that his talent can’t quite be described as max worthy.

If Thompson decides to accept the Cavs’ qualifying offer before the start of the season, he still won’t be staying in Cleveland long term if his agent, Rich Paul, is correct in thinking that he can get a max deal with the Toronto Raptors. And with Thompson being from Canada himself, and clearly thinking he isn’t worth anything less than a max contract, it seems as though he’ll be waiting till next summer to make a new, long-term deal happen elsewhere.

So despite Tristan Thompson’s value as a notable hustle player, the chances of the Cavaliers offering him a max deal don’t look great right now. And with the deadlock between both parties not budging an inch, it doesn’t look like those chances will improve any time soon.

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Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson will only re-sign with a max deal

By Tom West | Aug 31, 2015

It doesn’t appear as though Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to find common ground on a new deal.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers